[Validity and reliability of the CERAD-Col neuropsychological battery].
BACKGROUND
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an important public health problem due to its disabling character and high individual, familial and social costs. The CERAD neuropsychological battery has been widely used for evaluation and diagnosis of the cognitive deficit associated with AD. This instrument has been adapted to the Colombian culture (CERAD-Col) for the Neurosciences Group.


METHODS
A study was carried out to establish the validity and reliability of the CERAD-Col in Colombian, Spanish-speaking individuals aged 50 years or more. It included 151 controls and 151 AD patients. Controls were selected from a convenience sample of 848 adults aged 50 years or more. The construct validity was determined in three ways: 1) factorial analysis; 2) correlation with the functional scales FAST and GDS (convergent-type validity) and, 3) comparison between the two groups. Internal consistency was determined by means of Cronbach's alpha coefficient.


RESULTS
Three factors -memory, language and praxis- explained 88% of the total variance. Moderate but statistically significant correlations were found between neuropsychological tests and functional scales. Internal consistency and test-retest reproducibility were high. The AD group exhibited significantly lower scores (p < 0.05) than the control one.


CONCLUSIONS
CERAD-Col is valid and reliable for the diagnosis of AD in Colombian Spanish-speaking population aged 50 years or more.
Grupo de Neurociencias, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia. camilo.aguirre@neurociencias.udea.edu.co
D C
DC
Aguirre-Acevedo
R D
RD
Gómez
S
S
Moreno
E
E
Henao-Arboleda
M
M
Motta
C
C
Muñoz
A
A
Arana
D A
DA
Pineda
F
F
Lopera
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D003105:Colombia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007807:Language Tests; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D015203:Reproducibility of Results