Validation study of a French version of the modified telephone interview for cognitive status (F-TICS-m) in elderly women.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the performance of a French version of the modified Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (F-TICS-m) in identifying cognitive decline among elderly women.


METHODS
All women aged 72-86 participating in the 'Etude Epidémiologique auprès de Femmes de l'Education Nationale' (E3N) cohort and living in or near Paris constituted the target population of the validation study. Volunteer women (n = 120) underwent both a 20-min telephone interview and a face-to-face neuropsychological examination at an interval of few days (median interval: 10 days). The telephone interview included F-TICS-m, as well as a recall of key elements of a short story, arithmetic/verbal problems and two verbal fluency tests. Neuropsychological examination consisted of a standardized battery of cognitive tests (including the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test-FCSRT, Trailmaking tests A and B, the similarities subtest of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III, etc.) the Instrumental Activities of Daily Living questionnaire, and the Geriatric Depression Scale. Neuropsychological examination led to classification of each subject as cognitively normal (n = 92) or impaired/demented (n = 28).


RESULTS
F-TICS-m showed satisfactory internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.69). It correlated linearly with MMSE (Pearson's r = 0.72). Concurrent validity against the gold-standard classification was satisfactory, with an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.83. The combination of F-TICS-m and the other telephone tests had no additional effect on discrimination power in our sample (AUC = 0.81).


CONCLUSIONS
F-TICS-m is a valid instrument for assessing the overall cognitive status of French elderly women. Its validity in men and its reproducibility warrant further studies.
Vercambre
Marie-Noël
MN
Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, ERI 20, Université Paris-Sud EA 4045, and Institut Gustave Roussy, Villejuif F-94805 France.
Cuvelier
Hélène
H
Gayon
Yasemin Atakuman
YA
Hardy-Léger
Isabelle
I
Berr
Claudine
C
Trivalle
Christophe
C
Boutron-Ruault
Marie-Christine
MC
Clavel-Chapelon
Françoise
F
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000592:standards*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000379:methods; D013689:Telephone