title: Cognitive impairment evaluated with Vascular Cognitive Impairment Harmonization Standards in a multicenter prospective stroke cohort in Korea.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Since the Vascular Cognitive Impairment Harmonization Standards (VCIHS) neuropsychological test protocol was proposed by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and Canadian Stroke Network, no studies have applied this neuropsychological protocol to poststroke survivors in a large-scale, multicenter stroke cohort. We determined the frequency of vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) and investigated the feasibility of using the Korean version of the VCIHS neuropsychological protocol in a multicenter, hospital-based stroke cohort in Korea.
  
  
  METHODS
  We prospectively enrolled 620 subjects with ischemic stroke within 7 days of symptom onset among 899 patients who were consecutively admitted to 12 university hospitals in Korea. Neuropsychological assessments using the 60-minute Korean VCIHS neuropsychological protocol were administered at 3 months after stroke.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 620 patients, 506 were followed up at 3 months after stroke. Of these, 353 (69.8%) were evaluated for cognitive function using the 60-minute Korean VCIHS neuropsychological protocol. The frequency of VCI at 3 months was 62.6%: VCI with no dementia in 49.9% and vascular dementia in 12.7%. Old age (P=0.014), poor functional outcomes at 3 months (P=0.029), and stroke subtypes other than small vessel disease (P=0.004) were independent risk factors of VCI.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  VCI, evaluated using the Korean VCIHS neuropsychological protocol, is substantial at 3 months after ischemic stroke in Korea. The use of the 60-minute Korean VCIHS neuropsychological protocol was feasible in large-scale multicenter studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Hallym University College of Medicine, South Korea.
authors.forename: Kyung-Ho
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Soo-Jin
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Mi Sun
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.forename: San
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Ju-Hun
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Joon-Hyun
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Im-Suck
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Koh
authors.forename: Jae-Kwan
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Cha
authors.forename: Jong-Moo
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Hee-Joon
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Bae
authors.forename: Yeonwook
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Byung-Chul
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000592:standards*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology