title: Normative data for the repeatable battery for the assessment of neuropsychological status in elderly Chinese.
abstract: Asia will experience a surge in dementia prevalence within the next 20-40 years, but there is a dearth of well-normed neuropsychological tests that could assist with dementia diagnosis. Here, we report normative data for the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) in Elderly ethnic Chinese Singaporeans aged 55-91 years of age. A total of 1,165 male and female community-dwelling, cognitively normal elderly Chinese persons in Singapore, with varying levels of education and range of languages, were tested with the RBANS version A. The effects of age, education, language and gender on RBANS performance were examined. Negative effects of increased age and positive effects of education on the RBANS subtests, Index and Total Scale scores were found suggesting differential associations between age-related cognitive decline and education that vary according to the specific cognitive ability measured. The findings indicate that unique cultural and educational profile of elderly Chinese should be considered when applying the RBANS in this population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore Gerontological Research Programme, Faculty of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore Department of Psychology, National University of Singapore, Singapore psycsl@nus.edu.sg.
authors.forename: Simon Lowes
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Collinson
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Sam Hui
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore Gerontological Research Programme, Faculty of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: May-Li
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore Gerontological Research Programme, Faculty of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore Gerontological Research Programme, Faculty of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Tze-Pin
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Ng
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044466:Asian People / Q000523:psychology; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003704:Dementia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008609:Mental Status Schedule; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000592:standards*; D012015:Reference Standards; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012737:Sex Factors; D012846:Singapore
keywords: Age; Age-related cognitive decline; Education; Norms; RBANS