Performance of a Short Version of the Everyday Cognition Scale (ECog-12) to Detect Cognitive Impairment

• DOI: 10.14283/jpad.2024.109
• Publication Date: 2024-06-07T07:37:00Z
• Authors: M. Manjavong; A. Diaz; M.T. Ashford; A. Aaronson; M.J. Miller; J.M. Kang; S. Mackin; R. Tank; B. Landavazo; D. Truran; S.T. Farias; M. Weiner; Rachel L. Nosheny
• Keywords: Male; everyday cognition scale; A short version ECog-12; 610; 600; Middle Aged; Neuropsychological Tests; MCI; ECog-12; Cross-Sectional Studies; Cognition; 80 and over; Humans; Cognitive Dysfunction; Female; Alzheimer’s disease; dementia; Aged; Original Research

BACKGROUND: The Everyday Cognition (ECog) 12-item scale, a functional decline measurement, can distinguish dementia from cognitively unimpaired (CU). Limited data compare ECog-12 performance by raters (self vs. informant) and scoring systems (average numeric vs. categorical grouping) to differentiate cognitive statuses. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the performance of ECog-12 in differentiation cognitive statuses. DESIGN: A cross-sectional diagnostic test study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Data from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) study are analyzed. Participants were aged 55–90 years old divided into subgroups based on diagnostic criteria. MEASUREMENTS: We evaluated ECog-12 performance across different diagnostic groups, such as CU vs cognitive impairment (CI; mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and dementia), and the association between ECog-12 and CI. This procedure was repeated for self- and partner (informant)-reports. Additionally, types of ECog scores were also assessed, where an average ECog score was calculated (continuous numeric) as well as a categorical grouping (“any occasional declined” or “any consistently declined”) based on item-level responses to ECog questions. RESULTS: ECog-12 cut-off scores of 1.36 (self-reported) and 1.45 (partner-reported) distinguish CU from CI with AUC 0.7 and 0.78, respectively. Adding a memory-concern question improved self-reported-ECog AUC to 0.79. Self- and partner-reported “consistently-declined” ECog-12 categorical grouping provided AUC 0.69 and 0.78. The study partner reported ECog-12 showed a greater association with CI than self-reported, with odds ratios of 35.45 and 8.79, respectively. CONCLUSION: Study partner-reported ECog scores performed better than self-reported ECog-12 in differentiating cognitive statuses, and a higher study partner reported ECog score was a higher prognostic risk for CI. A memory concern question could enhance self-reported ECog-12 performance. This further emphasizes the need to obtain data from study partners for research and clinical practice. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at 10.14283/jpad.2024.109.