The East Boston Memory Test: A clinical screening measure for memory impairment in the elderly

Abstract

Comparisons between the East Boston Memory Test (EBMT), a brief verbal memory measure used in epidemiological studies with dementia, selected Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised (WMS-R) subtests, and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) were investigated with 23 geriatric patients diagnosed with dementia. Significant correlations between the EBMT and WMS-R verbal subtests were predicted and occurred (r = .42 to .64). A five minute EBMT recall correlated most highly with the WMS-R Logical Memory subtests. The sensitivity of the EBMT in detecting cognitive impairment was investigated and compared with the sensitivity of the MMSE. The EBMT correctly classified 78% of subjects, compared to a 70% correct classification rate with the MMSE. Implications of these findings and suggestions for future research directions are discussed.

Nocturnal sleep duration and cognitive impairment in a population‐based study of older adults

“…In particular, the TICS cut-off for cognitive impairment established for the original English TICS (Brandt et al, 1988) might not apply to our sample of German adults. Some aspects support the notion that the validity of our translated test battery might not differ considerably from the validity of the original English version (Brandt et al, 1988, Morris et al, 1989, Desmond et al, 1994, Gfeller and Horn, 1996, Kang and Grodstein, 2003. The translation of the TICS items and the EBMT was straightforward.…”

“…To assess cognitive function in 2003 and 2006, we administered the telephone interview for cognitive status (TICS), delayed recall of the TICS 10-word list, the east boston memory test (EBMT, immediate recall and delayed recall), a verbal fluency test, and the digit span backwards test (Brandt et al, 1988, Morris et al, 1993, Gfeller and Horn, 1996. These cognitive tests have been used before in large US cohorts, e.g., in the nurses' health study (NHS) (Tworoger et al, 2006).…”

Validation of a Cognitive Assessment Battery Administered over the Telephone

“…A telephone-based cognitive assessment approach similar to the one examined is being used currently in the WHIMS. 31 A geographically diverse sample of 2,858 post- menopausal women aged 75 to 93 is being evaluated annually with a telephone-administered battery consisting of the modified version of the TICS, 16 the EBMT, 21 the Oral Trail-Making Test, 39 Category Fluency (animals), Digit Span Forward and Backward, 24 the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale, 36 and the WHI Insomnia Rating Scale. 37 Twelve trained and certified examiners administer the battery annually from the WHIMS Coordinating Center at Wake Forest School of Medicine (Winston-Salem, NC).…”

“…18 The battery included the Logical Memory I and II and Digit Span Backwards from the Wechsler Memory Scale III 19 and a Category Fluency (animals) and Letter Fluency task. 20 In another study, a battery of cognitive tests (the TICS, the East Boston Memory Test (EBMT), 21,22 the Category Fluency (animals) task, 23 and the Digit Span-Backwards test 24 ) was administered over the telephone to 19,319 women aged 70 to 79 participating in the Nurses' Health Study. 25 The authors did not report the reliability or validity of the battery in this study, but they examined its performance in a separate sample of 61 participants aged 70 and older from the Religious Orders Study.…”

Cognitive resilience among APOE ε4 carriers in the oldest old

“…A central panel of dementia experts then adjudicated cases, classifying participants as cognitively normal, MCI, or probable dementia, according to standard criteria . In the WHIMS observational extension period (2007 to present), a validated telephone cognitive battery was administered annually to all participants comprising a modified version of the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS‐m), the Oral Trail Making Tests Part A and B, the East Boston Memory Test, Digit Span, and verbal fluency/animals . When participants scored below 31 points on the TICS‐m, the Dementia Questionnaire was administered to an informant to evaluate functional status.…”