The handwritten self-assessment takes less than 15 minutes to complete and is a reliable tool for evaluating cognitive abilities. Findings confirming the validity of the tool are reported in the current issue of the journal Alzheimer Disease and Associated Disorders.
“This is great news for adults in their 50s and early 60s who can still qualify for long-term care insurance,” explains Jesse Slome, director of the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance. Dementia and alzheimer’s are the most costly conditions among aging seniors. “Once a cognitive condition is diagnosed, there’s no way an individual will qualify for insurance,” Slome notes.
Ohio State University Medical Center medical experts developed the Self-Administered Gerocognitive Examination (SAGE) to help identify individuals with mild thinking and memory impairments at an early stage. The research shows four out of five people (80 percent) with mild thinking and memory (cognitive) issues will be detected by this test, and 95% of people who are normal thinking will have normal SAGE scores.
Many of the assessment tools for cognitive disorders being used today, while accurate, have aspects that deter their use. Other diagnostic tests require the patient to use a computer, which can add heightened anxiety to some older adults who may be infrequent users of technology.
The SAGE self-assessment is a practical tool for a busy primary care office said the test developer who makes the tests available free of charge to healthcare personnel. It only takes a paper, pen and a few minutes to take the test and because it’s self-administered, it doesn’t necessarily take time away from the appointment. “They can take the test in the waiting room while waiting for the doctor,” said Scharre.
The study involved 254 study participants, 59 years of age or older, who took the SAGE self-assessment. Sixty-three (63) individuals were randomly selected to have a one-day clinical evaluation utilizing a battery of physical, neurological and cognitive tests.
SAGE scores compared favorably with the mini-mental state examination (MMSE), a brief questionnaire test that is commonly used in medicine to screen for cognitive impairments and dementia.
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