Telephone interview for cognitive status (TICS) screening for clinical trials of physical activity and cognitive training: the seniors health and activity research program pilot (SHARP-P) study

Abstract

Objective: To examine the performance of the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS) for identifying participants appropriate for trials of physical activity and cognitive training interventions. Methods: Volunteers (N = 343), ages 70–85 years, who were being recruited for a pilot clinical trial on approaches to prevent cognitive decline, were administered TICS and required to score ≥31 prior to an invitation to attend clinic-based assessments. The frequencies of contraindications for physical activity and cognitive training interventions were tallied for individuals grouped by TICS scores. Relationships between TICS scores and other measures of cognitive function were described by scatterplots and correlation coefficients. Results: Eligibility criteria to identify candidates who were appropriate candidates for the trial interventions excluded 51.7% of the volunteers with TICS<31. TICS scores above this range were not strongly related to cognition or attendance at screening visits, however overall enrollment yields were approximately half for participants with TICS = 31 versus TICS = 41, and increased in a graded fashion throughout the range of scores. Conclusions: Use of TICS to define eligibility criteria in trials of physical activity and cognitive training interventions may not be worthwhile in that many individuals with low scores would already be eliminated by intervention-specific criteria and the relationship of TICS with clinic-based tests of cognitive function among appropriate candidates for these interventions may be weak. TICS may be most useful in these trials to identify candidates for oversampling in order to obtain a balanced cohort of participants at risk for cognitive decline.

Does Preoperative Risk for Delirium Moderate the Effects of Postoperative Pain and Opiate Use on Postoperative Delirium?

“…In addition, TICS is not sensitive to measuring mild cognitive impairment, 36 therefore, we were not able to determine the association between preoperative mild cognitive impairment and risk for delirium.…”

The Healthy Aging Brain Care (HABC) Monitor: validation of the Patient Self-Report Version of the clinical tool designed to measure and monitor cognitive, functional, and psychological health

“…One method is based on the TICS manual for defining impairment (TICS 0–32). 12 The second method employs a cut point commonly used by TICS studies 20 to define possible clinically significant impairment (TICS 0–30). The third method uses the crosswalk table in the TICS manual 12 to translate TICS scores to estimated Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores and then to apply a commonly used threshold for MMSE scores (MMSE 0–23; TICS 0–26).…”

Validation of a Cognitive Assessment Battery Administered over the Telephone

“…A significant limitation of the TICS, however, is that it provides only a coarse, global view of cognitive functioning and thus is not sufficient for making diagnostic determinations (14) or for measuring specific cognitive functions. Its performance may also be limited by study eligibility criteria (e.g., age, education, socio-economic status, health status) that contract its range (18). …”

“…Study eligibility criteria (e.g., age, education, socioeconomic status, health status) that contract its range may also limit its performance. 17 Several attempts to develop a telephone-administered cognitive test battery that includes tests of different abilities have been made. One group reported moderate to strong bivariate correlations (ρ = 0.71-0.89) between a battery of cognitive tests first administered face to face and then readministered 1 year later over the telephone to 1,738 male and female participants aged 61 to 87 (mean 75) in the Age-Related Eye Disease Study.…”