The PHC-cog: a brief cognitive function screening test for the elderly.
BACKGROUND
Cognitive dysfunctions such as dementia have emerged as a leading public health problem among the elderly. Its early detection is important for the management of patients, and for the educational support of other family members. Although cognitive dysfunction screening tests are available, they have not been widely utilized in community or primary care settings.


OBJECTIVE
To validate the PHC-cog (Public Health Center Cognitive Dysfunction Test) and to assess it as a simple and brief method for massive screening of cognitive dysfunctions in the primary care setting.


METHODS
The study comprised 137 community-dwelling patients with dementia and 134 age, sex, and education-matched controls. The PHC-cog was made combining patients' and informants' questionnaires to improve performance. The PHC-cog patient's section briefly assessed the patient's cognition.


RESULTS
The PHC-cog Patient's Section had a sensitivity and specificity of 0.75 and 0.92, respectively. The PHC-cog Informants' Section had a sensitivity and specificity of 0.79 and 0.83, respectively. The total method of administering the PHC-cog had a sensitivity and specificity of 0.96 and 0.82, and the two-stage method had a sensitivity and specificity of 0.92 and 0.76, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
The PHC-cog test is a simple, accurate and reliable, performance-based tool in the screening for cognitive dysfunction. The PHC-cog test is quick, and easy-to-use, and will hopefully become widely used in the cognitive screening of the aging population in the primary public medical institutions of Korea.
Park
Moon Ho
MH
Department of Nursing Science, Ajou University Medical College, Wonchun-dong, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, Gyeonggi-do, Korea #443-749.
Lee
Dae Hie
DH
Lee
Hong Jae
HJ
Song
Mi Sook
MS
D000368:Aged; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003704:Dementia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires