DemTect, PANDA, EASY, and MUSIC: Cognitive Screening Tools with Age Correction and Weighting of Subtests According to Their Sensitivity and Specificity
Affiliations: [a] Institute of Gerontology & Center for Neuropsychological Diagnostics and Intervention (CeNDI), University of Vechta, Vechta, Germany | [b] Department of Neurology, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany | [c] Department of Psychology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland | [d] Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
Correspondence:
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Correspondence to: Elke Kalbe, PhD, Institute of Gerontology & Center for Neuropsychological Diagnostics and Intervention (CeNDI), University of Vechta, Driverstr. 22, 49377 Vechta, Germany. Tel.: +49 4441 15204; Fax: +49 4441 15621; E-mail: elke.kalbe@uni-vechta.de.
Abstract: Many cognitive screening instruments have been developed during the last decades to detect mild cognitive dysfunction and dementia, and there is an ongoing discussion as to which tool should be used in which setting and which challenges have to be considered. Among other aspects, dependence on age is a recognized problem in screening tools which still has not found its way into common scoring procedures. Another aspect which has been handled very heterogeneously is which domain is represented in which proportion in the total score. Furthermore, screening ethnic minority patients has been identified as an important but so far widely unresolved matter. In this review, four cognitive screening tools that all follow a common, stringent concept and pay regard to some critical aspects are described: the DemTect, a “generic” tool; the PANDA for Parkinson's disease patients; the EASY, a non-verbal, culture-fair screening test for patients with migration background; and the MUSIC for patients with multiple sclerosis. All of these screening instruments have an age-correction, provide a total score in which the different subtests are weighted according to their individual sensitivity and specificity, and include tasks that are specifically aligned to the cognitive profile of the target group, including the EASY with non-verbal, culture-fair tasks to overcome language and cultural barriers. The development, main characteristics, data, and limitations of these tools are presented and discussed against the background of the current landscape of cognitive screening tools.
Keywords: Alzheimer's disease, cognition, cultural diversity, dementia, early diagnosis, mild cognitive impairment, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease
