Visuoconstructional ability is an important domain for assessment in
dementia. Use of graphomotor measures dominate this area; however,
participants with low education produce results that cannot be easily
interpreted. Our objective was to develop and validate a nongraphomotor
assessment of visuoconstructional ability for use in dementia evaluations
in persons with low or no education. In a longitudinal, population-based
study of dementia among Yoruba residents of Ibadan, Nigeria aged 65 years
and older, participants underwent clinical assessment with a battery of
cognitive tests and consensus diagnosis. Performance on two
visuoconstructional tests, Constructional Praxis and Stick Design, were
compared. Gender, age, and education affected performance on both tests.
The Stick Design test was more acceptable than Constructional Praxis as
measured by the number of participants with total test failure (3.9%
vs. 15.1%). The Stick Design test was significantly more
sensitive to cognitive impairment and dementia than the Constructional
Praxis test. We conclude that Stick Design is a reasonable test of
visuoconstructional ability in older cohorts with very limited educational
exposure and literacy. (JINS, 2005, 11,
598–605.)