Neuropsychological detection of dementia: an overview of the neuropsychological component of the Canadian Study of Health and Aging.

As part of the Canadian Study of Health and Aging (CSHA), a battery of neuropsychological measures was administered to 1879 participants. Participants who received neuropsychological evaluations were selected from an age-stratified random sample on the basis of scores on a cognitive screening tool, the Modified Mini-Mental State Examination (3MS). Seventy-five percent of the sample seen for neuropsychological evaluation scored between 50 and 77 on the 3MS and 25% of the sample scored 78 or over. This paper provides a descriptive summary of the methodological basis of the neuropsychological component of the CSHA. The findings indicated that differences existed between participants administered the battery in English or French in terms of refusal rates and diagnoses of dementia. Cursory examination of the utility of the battery indicated that the battery was tolerated well by both the participants and the psychologists involved with the study and that measures of memory functioning were central to diagnostic decision-making. The relations between neuropsychological, preliminary medical and consensus diagnoses were examined and indicated that neuropsychological information influenced diagnostic decision-making. The neuropsychology component of the CSHA is a rich source of information on persons aged 65 years and older in Canada.