<p>Reliability and Validity of THINC-it in Evaluating Cognitive Function of Patients with Bipolar Depression</p>

Abstract

The THINC-integrated tool (THINC-it) as a brief screening tool can assesses cognitive impairment in patients with major depressive depression (MDD). Here, we aim to evaluate the reliability and validity of the THINC-it in a bipolar depression (BD-D) group in comparison with a healthy control (HC) group. Materials and Methods: Both groups were matched according to age, gender, years of education, and IQ. All participants completed the THINC-it test, including Spotter, Symbol Check, Codebreaker, Trails, and the Perceived Deficits Questionnaire for Depression-5-item (PDQ-5-D). The concurrent validity and internal consistency of the THINC-it test were analyzed, and 30 healthy controls were randomly sampled to retest THINC-it to verify the reliability of the THINC-it retest. The correlation between THINC-it and Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD-17) and Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS) was also analyzed. Results: Fifty-eight patients with BD-D and 61 HCs were included for final analysis. There were significant mean difference (MD) standard errors (SE) between two groups in PDQ-5-D, Spotter and Codebreaker (all P<0.01), Trails (P=0.015). There was no significant difference in Symbol Check (MD (SE)=−0.01 (0.18), P=0.938; 95% CI=−0.38 to 0.35). The Cronbach's α of PDQ-5-D was 0.640. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was between 0.440 and 0.757. The highest concurrent validity was PDQ-5-D (r=0.812, P<0.001). PDQ-5-D was positively correlated with HAMD-17 and SDS score (P<0.01). The objective test had no significant correlation with HAMD-17 and SDS scores (P>0.05). Conclusion: This study found that THINC-it can accurately present the cognitive impairment of patients with BD-D. It can be potentially applied in assessing the cognitive function of patients with BD-D although Symbol Check may not accurately reflect the level of cognitive function. The concurrent validity and retest reliability are lower than expected, we need to further increase the sample size to study.

Long term neuropsychiatric consequences in COVID-19 survivors: Cognitive impairment and inflammatory underpinnings fifteen months after discharge

“…Cognitive assessment was performed using a digital, simplified Chinese version of the THINC-it tool, which has been proven to have good reliability and validity in the Chinese adult population ( Liu et al, 2021 ). It includes a 5-item Perceived Deficits Questionnaire for Depression (PHQ-5D) 14 , Spotter, Symbol Check, Codebreaker, and Trails ( Hou et al, 2020 , Zhang et al, 2020 ). The validity of the four objective test sections of the THINC-it tool (Spotter, Symbol Check, Codebreaker, and Trails) was used to evaluate the subjunctive’s attention/concentration, executive function, working memory, and processing speed.…”

“…This study aimed to evaluate the cognitive function and neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients who recovered from COVID-19 at 15 months of follow-up after their discharge from hospital, and to investigate the potential associated factors, including systematic inflammation. We assessed the cognitive function of COVID-19 survivors using THINC-integrated tool (THINC-it) 8 , which is a digital, gamified cognitive function evaluation tool ( Harrison et al, 2018 , Zhang et al, 2020 ). Using this tool, we evaluated comprehensive neuropsychiatric/cognitive function in COVID-19 survivors after 15 months and in matched healthy controls (HC).…”

Early Effects of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Combined With Sertraline in Adolescents With First-Episode Major Depressive Disorder

“…In the original THINC-it design, the direction of each test result should be consistent. PDQ5-D, Spotter, and Trails were multiplied by –1, so the results of five tests were positively associated with cold executive function ( 17 ). All statistical tests were two-tailed, and a p -value < 0.05 was considered to be significant.…”

Depression and Cognitive Impairment: Current Understanding of Its Neurobiology and Diagnosis

“… 3 , 6 Valid and effective cognitive dysfunction screening techniques are critical for detecting and treating cognitive dysfunction in MDD. 7 Existing clinical interviews are subjective evaluations of cognitive function (eg, COBRA/strengths and difficulties questionnaire), which are affected by feelings and emotions and are not as stable as objective tests. According to the literature, cognitive dysfunction can have a negative impact on organizational, occupational, and social functions.…”