Studio di validazione dell'ACE-R in lingua italiana nella popolazione degli young-old e degli old-old

Introduction. The main aims of the study were the translation into Italian, and validation subsequently of the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination Revised (ACE-R), and the evaluation of its usefulness in discriminating cognitively normal subjects from patients with mild dementia. Methods. The ACE-R was translated and adapted into Italian. The Italian ACE-R was administrated to a group of 179 elderly subjects (72 cognitively intact and 107 subjects with mild dementia, mean age 75.4 years ± 6.4). The group was stratified in two sub-samples according to age, i.e. young-old (< 75 years) and old-old (≥ 75 years), in order to evaluate test's sensitivity and specificity in detecting dementia among elderly of different age. Results. The reliability of the Italian ACE-R was excellent (alpha coefficient = 0.85). Two different cut-offs were identified for young-old (cut-off 79; sensitivity 90% and specificity 80%); and old-old subjects (cut-off 60; sensitivity 82% and specificity 100%). Discussion. The Italian ACE-R is a valid screening tool to detect dementia. This is true especially among the old-old individuals, the fastest growing age group and the one at the highest risk of dementia in western countries.