The Use of the Modified Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS-M) in the Detection of Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment

摘要

Many screening tools for detecting cognitive decline require in-person assessment, which is often not cost effective or feasible for those with physical limitations. The Modified Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS-M) has been used for screening dementia, but little is known about its usefulness in detecting amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI). Community-dwelling participants (mean age= 74.9, mean education= 16.1 years) were administered the TICS-M during initial screening and subsequently given a multi-domain neuropsychological battery. Participants were classified by consensus panel as normal older adult (noMCI, N= 54) or aMCI (N= 17) based on neuropsychological performance and Clinical Dementia Rating Scale interview, but independent of TICS-M score. There was a significant difference between groups in TICS-M score (t= 8.04, p < 0.01, noMCI range 32–43, mean [SD]= 37.4 [2.5], aMCI range 25–37, mean [SD]= 31.2 [3.5]). Discriminant function analysis revealed that TICS-M alone correctly classified 85.9% of participants into their respective diagnostic classification (sensitivity= 82.4%, specificity= 87.0%). Receiver operating characteristics analysis resulted in cutoff score of 34 that optimized sensitivity and specificity of aMCI classification. The TICS-M is a brief, cost-effective screening measure for identifying those with and without aMCI.