Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-pjpqr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-21T06:06:57.730Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Premorbid intelligence estimation and level of dementia in Alzheimer's disease

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2009

A. Matt Maddrey ,
C.M. Cullum ,
M.F. Weiner  and
C.M. Filley
A. Matt Maddrey
Affiliation:
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75235
C.M. Cullum
Affiliation:
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75235
M.F. Weiner
Affiliation:
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75235
C.M. Filley
Affiliation:
The University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Boulder, CO 80302
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Simple sight-word reading tasks have demonstrated utility in the estimation of premorbid intelligence, although the effects of progressive dementia on such tasks has not been thoroughly examined. The present investigation sought to examine estimated IQ scores from the National Adult Reading Test-Revised (NART-R; Blair & Spreen, 1989) in relation to a WAlS-R-bascd (Wechsler, 1981) estimate of IQ in a series of patients with probable Alzheimer's disease across varying levels of dementia. Results suggest that while NART-R scores do show a decrement with dementia severity, this decline is mild, in contrast to traditionally based IQ scores and other measures of cognitive function, which show more marked declines. Similarly, compared with other tasks, the NART-R showed the strongest correlation with education across the sample as a whole, while the other indices were more related to level of dementia. These findings support the use of measures such as the NART-R in estimating premorbid intellectual functioning in patients at various levels of dementia severity, including those with more advanced cognitive deterioration. (JINS, 1996, 2, 551–555.)

Keywords

Premorbid intelligenceAlzheimer's diseaseDementia
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 2 , Issue 6 , November 1996 , pp. 551 - 555
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 1996

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Berg, L. (1988). Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR). Psychopharmacology Bulletin, 24, 637–639.Google Scholar
Berry, D.T.R., Carpenter, G.S., Campbell, D.A., Schmitt, F.A., Helton, K., & Lipke-Molby, T. (1994). The New Adult Reading Test-Revised: Accuracy in estimating WAIS-R IQ scores obtained 3.5 years earlier from normal older persons. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 9, 239–250.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blair, J.R. & Spreen, O. (1989). Predicting premorbid IQ: A revision of the National Adult Reading Test. The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 3, 129–136.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crawford, J., Parker, D., & Besson, J. (1988). Estimation of premorbid intelligence in organic conditions. British Journal of Psychiatry, 153, 178–181.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Crawford, J., Parker, D., Stewart, L., Besson, J., & De Lacey, G. (1989). Prediction of WAIS IQ with the National Adult Reading Test: Cross-validation and extension, British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 28, 267–273.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cummings, J.L., Houlihan, J.P., & Hill, M.A. (1986). The pattern of reading deterioration in dementia of the Alzheimer type: Observations and implications. Brain and Language, 29, 315–323.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Folstein, M.F., Folstein, S.E., & McHugh, P.R. (1975). Minimental state: A practical method for grading the cognitive state of patients for the clinician. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 12, 189–198.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fromm, D., Holland, A.L., Nebes, R.D., & Oakley, M.A. (1991). A longitudinal study of word-reading ability in Alzheimer's disease: Evidence from the National Adult Reading Test. Cortex, 27, 367–376.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hart, S., Smith, C.M., & Swash, M. (1986). Assessing intellectual deterioration. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 25, 119–124.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mattis, S. (1988). Dementia Rating Scale. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.Google Scholar
McKhann, G., Drachman, D., Folstein, M., Katzman, R., Price, D., & Stadlan, E.M., (1984). Clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease: Report of the NINCDS-ADRDA Work Group under the auspices of the Department of Health and Human Services Task Force on Alzheimer's disease. Neurology, 34, 939–944.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Naugle, R.I., Cullum, C.M., & Bigler, E.D. (1990). Evaluation of intellectual and memory function among dementia patients who were intellectually superior. The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 4, 355–374.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nebes, R.D., Martin, D.C., & Horn, L.C. (1984). Sparing of semantic memory in Alzheimer's Disease. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 93, 321–330.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nelson, H.E. (1982). National Adult Reading Test. Windsor, UK: NFER.Google Scholar
Nelson, H.E. (1991). The National Adult Reading Test. Windsor, UK: NFER.Google Scholar
Nelson, H.E. & O'Connell, A.O. (1978). Dementia: The estimation of premorbid intelligence levels using the National Adult Reading Test. Cortex, 14, 234–244.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O'Carroll, R. & Gilleard, C. (1986). Estimation of premorbid intelligence in dementia. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 25, 157–158.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Patterson, K., Graham, N., & Hodges, J.R. (1994). Reading in dementia of the Alzheimer type: A preserved ability? Neuropsychalogy, 8, 395–407.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Paque, L. & Warrington, E.K. (1995). A longitudinal study of reading ability in patients suffering from dementia. Journal of the International Neuropsychoiogical Society, 1, 517–524.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Román, G.C., Tatemichi, T.K., Erkinjuntti, T., et al. (1993). Vascular dementia: Diagnostic criteria for research studies. Neurology. 43, 250–260.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ryan, J. & Paolo, A. (1992). A screening procedure for estimating premorbid intelligence in the elderly. The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 6, 53–62.Google Scholar
Sharpe, K. & O'Carroll, R. (1991). Estimating premorbid intellectual level in dementia using the National Adult Reading Test: A Canadian study. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 30, 381–384.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Silverstein, A.B. (1982). Two- and four-subtest short forms of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 50, 415–418.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Snowdon, D.A., Kemper, S.J., Mortimer, J.A., Greiner, L.H., Wekstein, D.R., & Markesbery, W.R. (1996). Linguistic ability in early life and cognitive function and Alzheimer's disease in late life: Findings from the NUN study. Journal of the American Medical Association, 275, 528–532.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stebbins, G.T., Gilley, D.W., Wilson, R.S., Bernard, B.A., & Fox, J.H. (1990). Effects of language disturbances on premorbid estimates of IQ in mild dementia. The Clinical Neuropsychologist 4, 64–68.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stebbins, G.T., Wilson, R.S., Gilley, D.W., Bernard, B.S., & Fox, J.H. (1990). Use of the National Adult Reading Test to estimate premorbid IQ in dementia. The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 4, 18–24.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wechsler, D. (1981). Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised manual. New York: The Psychological Corporation.Google Scholar
Wiens, A.N., Bryan, J.E., & Crossen, J.R. (1993). Estimating WAIS-R FSIQ from the National Adult Reading Test-Revised in normal subjects. Clinical Neuropsychologist, 7, 70–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Willshire, D., Kinsella, G., & Prior, M. (1991). Estimating WAIS-R IQ from the National Adult Reading Test: A cross-validation. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 13, 204–216.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yates, A. (1956). The use of vocabulary in the measurement of intellectual deterioration: A review. Journal of Mental Science 102, 409–440.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed