title: Telephone interview for cognitive status (TICS) screening for clinical trials of physical activity and cognitive training: the seniors health and activity research program pilot (SHARP-P) study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the performance of the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS) for identifying participants appropriate for trials of physical activity and cognitive training interventions.
  
  
  METHODS
  Volunteers (N=343), ages 70-85 years, who were being recruited for a pilot clinical trial on approaches to prevent cognitive decline, were administered TICS and required to score ≥ 31 prior to an invitation to attend clinic-based assessments. The frequencies of contraindications for physical activity and cognitive training interventions were tallied for individuals grouped by TICS scores. Relationships between TICS scores and other measures of cognitive function were described by scatterplots and correlation coefficients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Eligibility criteria to identify candidates who were appropriate candidates for the trial interventions excluded 51.7% of the volunteers with TICS<31. TICS scores above this range were not strongly related to cognition or attendance at screening visits, however overall enrollment yields were approximately half for participants with TICS=31 versus TICS=41, and increased in a graded fashion throughout the range of scores.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Use of TICS to define eligibility criteria in trials of physical activity and cognitive training interventions may not be worthwhile in that many individuals with low scores would already be eliminated by intervention-specific criteria and the relationship of TICS with clinic-based tests of cognitive function among appropriate candidates for these interventions may be weak. TICS may be most useful in these trials to identify candidates for oversampling in order to obtain a balanced cohort of participants at risk for cognitive decline.
authors.affiliation: Division of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest University Health Sciences, Winston-Salem, NC, USA. mespelan@wfubmc.edu
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Espeland
authors.forename: Stephen R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Rapp
authors.forename: Jeff A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Katula
authors.forename: Lee Ann
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Andrews
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Felton
authors.forename: Sarah A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Gaussoin
authors.forename: Dale
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dagenbach
authors.forename: Claudine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Legault
authors.forename: Janine M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Jennings
authors.forename: Kaycee M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Sink
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; D015444:Exercise / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D005082:Physical Exertion; D010865:Pilot Projects; D019114:Remote Consultation / Q000379:methods*; D013689:Telephone