title: Neuropsychological and functional correlates of clock-drawing test in elderly institutionalized patients with schizophrenia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There has been a growing need for a cognitive assessment tool that can be used for older adults with schizophrenia in clinical settings. The clock-drawing test (CDT) is a brief cognitive test that covers a wide range of cognitive function. Although it is widely used to assess patients with dementia, limited data are available on its usefulness in older patients with schizophrenia. Thus, we investigated the psychometric properties of the CDT and their relationship with life functions to examine the test's usefulness for assessing cognitive function in older adults with schizophrenia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventy-three older adults with chronic schizophrenia who had been hospitalized for over 1 year participated in the study. We adopted the executive clock-drawing task for administration and scoring of the CDT, which consists of free-drawn and copy conditions. The Mini-Mental State Examination and the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia were administered. Symptom severity and life functions were assessed with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale and the Life Skills Profile, respectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Both free-drawn and copy scores significantly correlated with the Mini-Mental State Examination score and the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia composite score. These scores also significantly correlated with symptom severity and length of current hospitalization. Stepwise regression analysis showed that only the copy score, together with symptom severity, predicted the Life Skills Profile score.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The CDT can assess cognitive function in older adults with schizophrenia. Moreover, CDT performance is associated with life functions independent from other clinical variables. These results suggest that the CDT is a useful cognitive assessment tool for this population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kitayama Hospital, Kyoto, Japan. aiko@koto.kpu-m.ac.jp
authors.forename: Aiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Okamura
authors.forename: Yurinosuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kitabayashi
authors.forename: Mutsumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kohigashi
authors.forename: Keisuke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shibata
authors.forename: Takuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ishida
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Narumoto
authors.forename: Chizuru
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Morioka
authors.forename: Masaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kitabayashi
authors.forename: Akiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kashima
authors.forename: Naosuke
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tani
authors.forename: Shutaro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nakaaki
authors.forename: Masaru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mimura
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fukui
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D007326:Institutionalization; D008297:Male; D008609:Mental Status Schedule; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D012044:Regression Analysis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index