Centre for Policy on Ageing



Cognitive testing of elderly Chinese people in Singapore — influence of education and age on normative scores
Author(s)	Suresh Sahadevan, Noellyn J L Tan, Tahchew Tan
Journal title	Age and Ageing, vol 26, no 6, November 1997
Pages	pp 481-486
Keywords	Dementia ; Assessment procedures for mental patients ; Educational status [elderly] ; Chinese people ; Singapore.
Annotation	The diagnosis of dementia, particularly in the early stages, has been made easier by psychometric testing. However, cultural, educational and ethnic factors must be taken into account when drawing conclusions from psychological tests obtained in populations differing from the ones in which they were validated. This study aimed to establish age- and education-adjusted mean psychometric test scores of 155 cognitively normal older Chinese people in Singapore. Results showed that only education and age were independent variables; gender and language spoken were strongly correlated with education. The study found that age- and education-adjusted normative scores resulted in a more accurate diagnosis of dementia, which may facilitate better international comparisons of the disorder. As the subjects of the study were representative of many others from China, the results may serve not only as a local, but also as a regional, reference source.
Accession Number	CPA-980122411 A
Classmark	EA: DA:4C: F:V: TKL: 7XD
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.