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Validation of a digit symbol substitution test for use in supervised and unsupervised assessment in mild Alzheimer's disease.
- Source :
-
Journal of clinical and experimental neuropsychology [J Clin Exp Neuropsychol] 2022 Dec; Vol. 44 (10), pp. 768-779. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Feb 22. - Publication Year :
- 2022
-
Abstract
- Introduction: The Digit-Symbol-Substitution Test (DSST) is used widely in neuropsychological investigations of Alzheimer's Disease (AD). A computerized version of this paradigm, the DSST-Meds, utilizes medicine-date pairings and has been developed for administration in both supervised and unsupervised environments. This study determined the utility and validity of the DSST-Meds for measuring cognitive dysfunction in early AD.<br />Method: Performance on the DSST-Meds was compared to performance on the WAIS Coding test, and a computerized digit symbol coding test (DSST-Symbols). The first study compared supervised performance on the three DSSTs versions in cognitively unimpaired (CU) adults (n = 104). The second compared supervised DSST performance between CU ( n =  60) and mild-symptomatic AD (mild-AD, n = 79) groups. The third study compared performance on the DSST-Meds between unsupervised ( n = 621) and supervised settings.<br />Results: In Study 1, DSST-Meds accuracy showed high correlations with the DSST-Symbols accuracy ( r = 0.81) and WAIS-Coding accuracy ( r = 0.68). In Study 2, when compared to CU adults, the mild-AD group showed lower accuracy on all three DSSTs (Cohen's d ranging between 1.39 and 2.56) and DSST-Meds accuracy was correlated moderately with Mini-Mental State Examination scores ( r = 0.44, p < .001). Study 3 observed no difference in DSST-meds accuracy between supervised and unsupervised administrations.<br />Conclusion: The DSST-Meds showed good construct and criterion validity when used in both supervised and unsupervised contexts and provided a strong foundation to investigate the utility of the DSST in groups with low familiarity to neuropsychological assessment.
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1744-411X
- Volume :
- 44
- Issue :
- 10
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Journal of clinical and experimental neuropsychology
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 36888758
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1080/13803395.2023.2179977