title: Impaired digit span can predict further cognitive decline in older people with subjective memory complaint: a preliminary result.
abstract: Subjective memory complaint (SMC) is common among elderly people, and is thought to be part of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). We evaluated whether impaired digit span (IDS) in older people with SMC can predict wider impairment in future neuropsychological tests that correspond to MCI. After a mean of 6.6 years from the initial assessment, we reevaluated 16 subjects with SMC and normal digit span (NDS) scores (mean age 57.6 ± 8.1 years) and 28 subjects with SMC and IDS scores (mean age 59.7 ± 9.9 years). The IDS group showed wider cognitive decline in tests of short-term verbal memory and category verbal fluency compared to the NDS group. IDS scores indicate an earlier step for conversion of SMC to MCI.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Neuropsychology, Department of Neurology, Dokuz Eylul University, Izmir, Turkey. pinar.kurt@deu.edu.tr
authors.forename: Pinar
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kurt
authors.forename: Gorsev
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yener
authors.forename: Meral
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Oguz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D011939:Mental Recall; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics; D014888:Wechsler Scales