title: The clock drawing test: diagnostic, functional, and neuroimaging correlates in older medically ill adults.
abstract: This study evaluated the clock drawing test (CDT), a screening test sensitive to executive function, in 70 elderly psychiatric consultation patients. The CDT was compared to the Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE) on associations with psychiatric diagnoses, disposition status and radiographic findings. CDT and MMSE were correlated, and scores differed across psychiatric subgroups. In multivariate analysis, only age and CDT predicted disposition status. A lower CDT score correlated with a higher intercaudate ratio, indicating greater caudate atrophy. These findings suggest that the CDT indicates underlying subcortical pathology and deficiencies in executive function important for self-care.
authors.affiliation: Division of Psychosomatic Medicine, NY-Presbyterian Hospital, East 68th Street, Box 181, NY, NY 10021, USA.
authors.forename: Julia B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Samton
authors.forename: Stephen J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Ferrando
authors.forename: Pina
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sanelli
authors.forename: Sassan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Karimi
authors.forename: Valentine
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Raiteri
authors.forename: John W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Barnhill
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000145:classification / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011340:Problem Solving / Q000502:physiology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics; D012189:Retrospective Studies