title: Effect of age and education on the Trail Making Test and determination of normative data for Japanese elderly people: the Tajiri Project.
abstract: The Trail Making Test (TMT) is a common two-part neuropsychological test, in which visuospatial ability (TMT-A) and executive function (TMT-B) are evaluated. Normative data for this test have not been reported for Japanese subjects; therefore, the purpose of the present paper was to investigate the effect of age and education on the TMT in 155 healthy elderly adults with clinical dementia rating 0 (healthy). The participants were classified into three groups based on age (70-74 years, 75-84 years and >or=85 years), and also into three groups based on educational level (6 years, 8 years and >or=10 years). The time to complete TMT-A and TMT-B were measured, and the difference in score between TMT-A and TMT-B (B-A) and the ratio of the score (B/A) were calculated as indices of executive function. The time for completion of both parts of the TMT increased markedly in the >or=85-years group. For TMT-A, there was a significant difference between the 6-years and 8-years groups, and between the 6-years and >or=10-years groups, and for TMT-B, there was a significant difference between the 6-years and >or=10-years groups, and between the 8-years and >or=10-years groups. The difference and ratio scores increased in the >or=85-years group, but the educational level did not significantly influence these scores. Our data suggest that cognitive functions evaluated by TMT-A and TMT-B are not affected by aging until the subjects are >or=85 years old. For TMT-A, an educational effect becomes apparent when the population includes poorly educated subjects, but this part of the test is not affected by educational level provided that the subjects have some education (>6 years). The time to complete TMT-B is affected by educational level, consistent with previous reports. However, when adjusted using the results for TMT-A [(B-A) or (B/A)], the educational effect on executive function disappeared. Thus, the effect of educational level on executive function was unclear in normal elderly subjects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioral Neurology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: Ryusaku
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
authors.forename: Kenichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Meguro
authors.forename: Eunjoo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Mari
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kasai
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ishii
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamaguchi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D004493:Education; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D012016:Reference Values