title: Correlates of informant-rated cognitive decline after stroke.
abstract: Cognitive impairment is common after stroke, but measurement is problematic. Six tests of mental ability, unaffected by loss of limb function, were administered to 49 subjects of mean age 74.2 years at a median of 4.3 years (range 0.1-16.8) after stroke together with a depression score and the IQCODE, an informant-rated scale of estimated cognitive decline. Over 90% of stroke patients were able to complete most tests. IQCODE correlated significantly with the HADS depression score (r = 0.35, p = 0.040), the 2-year Barthel score (r = -0.60, p = 0.001) and with a general cognitive factor extracted from the mental ability test scores (r = -0.42, p = 0.016). We conclude that informant-rated methods offer a promising approach to measuring cognitive decline after stroke.
authors.affiliation: Department of Geriatric Medicine, University of Edinburgh, UK. John.Starr@ed.ac.uk
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Starr
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nicolson
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Dennis
authors.forename: I J
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: Deary
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D011594:Psychometrics; D011932:Reading; D020521:Stroke / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D000071939:Stroke Rehabilitation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D014706:Verbal Learning