In this proposal, we will focus on developing and testing a valid cognitive screening instrument suitable both for use in Ballabgarh and for comparisons with the Mon Valley data. Pilot data is provided showing the feasibility of this enterprise. We will systematically identify, translate, and modify appropriate test items, pretest them on volunteers, assemble them into tests of various cognitive domains, and compile a cognitive screening battery as analogous as possible to that used in the Mon Valley studies. We will then pilot-test the battery on a community sample, examine the distribution of scores in the population, and make further modifications to the instrument. After establishing reliability and validity, we will field-test the cognitive screen on a 10% community sample of the elderly (approximately 430 subjects aged 55 and older) in Ballabgarh, concurrently measuring functional ability with a specially developed scale. The entire sample will then be diagnostically evaluated for dementia, using standard criteria. The psychometric properties, sensitivity, and specificity of the screening instrument will be determined, and the data compared with Mon Valley results to identify similarities and differences in the distributions of test scores, age- affects, predictive power, and associations with other variables. The result will be a relatively culture-fair, and optimally sensitive and specific, community screening tool for dementia, which can be used for epidemiological studies in the target population and for comparison with the Mon Valley population; it will also be a first step for a more universally applicable cross-national screening instrument. The development of such an instrument is an essential step towards our long- term goal of conducting a prospective community study to compare the incidence and characteristics of and risk factors for the dementias in the Indian and American populations.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
1R01AG009202-01A1
Application #
3120973
Study Section
Epidemiology and Disease Control Subcommittee 2 (EDC)
Project Start
1991-07-01
Project End
1994-06-30
Budget Start
1991-07-01
Budget End
1992-06-30
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
1991
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Pittsburgh
Department
Type
Schools of Public Health
DUNS #
053785812
City
Pittsburgh
State
PA
Country
United States
Zip Code
15213
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Pandav, Rajesh; Fillenbaum, Gerda; Ratcliff, Graham et al. (2002) Sensitivity and specificity of cognitive and functional screening instruments for dementia: the Indo-U.S. Dementia Epidemiology Study. J Am Geriatr Soc 50:554-61
Fillenbaum, G G; Chandra, V; Ganguli, M et al. (1999) Development of an activities of daily living scale to screen for dementia in an illiterate rural older population in India. Age Ageing 28:161-8
Ganguli, M; Dube, S; Johnston, J M et al. (1999) Depressive symptoms, cognitive impairment and functional impairment in a rural elderly population in India: a Hindi version of the geriatric depression scale (GDS-H). Int J Geriatr Psychiatry 14:807-20
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Ratcliff, G; Ganguli, M; Chandra, V et al. (1998) Effects of literacy and education on measures of word fluency. Brain Lang 61:115-22
Chandra, V; Ganguli, M; Pandav, R et al. (1998) Prevalence of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias in rural India: the Indo-US study. Neurology 51:1000-8
Chandra, V; Ganguli, M; Ratcliff, G et al. (1998) Practical issues in cognitive screening of elderly illiterate populations in developing countries. The Indo-US Cross-National Dementia Epidemiology Study. Aging (Milano) 10:349-57
Chandra, V; DeKosky, S T; Pandav, R et al. (1998) Neurologic factors associated with cognitive impairment in a rural elderly population in India: the Indo-US Cross-National Dementia Epidemiology Study. J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol 11:11-7
DeKosky, S T; Aston, C E; Kamboh, M I (1996) Polygenic determinants of Alzheimer's disease: modulation of the risk by alpha-1-antichymotrypsin. Ann N Y Acad Sci 802:27-34

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