The clock-drawing test in elderly Italian community dwellers: associations with sociodemographic status and risk factors for vascular cognitive impairment.

To evaluate whether performance in the clock-drawing test (CDT) is associated with sociodemographic status and risk factors for cognitive impairment, we examined 744 Italian community dwellers aged > or =65 (73 +/- 6) years scoring > or =24 on the MMSE. CDT was scored by two different methods, the Sunderland and the Wolf-Klein methods. Sociodemographic, lifestyle, clinical and biochemical variables were also recorded. For both scoring methods, lower CDT scores were associated with age, poor education, increased serum C-reactive protein and history of cancer. Associations of lower CDT scores with increased serum glucose and history of cerebrovascular disease were also found for the method with the highest sensitivity to cognitive impairment. This study shows that in elderly community dwellers, CDT may be not totally free from sociodemographic biases, and that it is associated with risk factors for cognitive impairment and frailty. Copyright 2003 S. Karger AG, Basel