A-75 Predicting neurocognitive impairment using the Green’s Medical Symptom Validity Test dementia profile formula

• Published in: Archives of clinical neuropsychology Vol. 34; no. 6; p. 935
• Main Authors: Ringdahl, E, Seegmiller, R, Aden, J, Stephens, C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 28.08.2019
• ISSN: 1873-5843; 1873-5843
• DOI: 10.1093/arclin/acz034.75

Abstract Objective The Green’s Medical Symptom Validity Test (MSVT) is a measure of performance validity and has a formula to help distinguish genuine cognitive impairment from suboptimal engagement. The current study used the MSVT “dementia profile” formula to discriminate patients with no neurocognitive disorder (no NCD), mild neurocognitive disorder (mild NCD), and major neurocognitive disorder (major NCD). Method 198 patients who were seen for comprehensive outpatient neuropsychological testing and passed all MSVT validity measures were included in the study. Specifically, participants included 103 persons with no NCD, 62 diagnosed with a mild NCD, and 33 with major NCD, who were collectively 58% male, with a mean age of 52-years-old (SD = 16.1) and mean education of 14.5 years (SD = 2.5). Results The difference score between easy and hard MSVT subtests predicted group assignment (r = .57, p < .001) and effectively differentiated the three groups (p < .001). Mean difference scores of both groups with diagnosed NCD exceeded recommended criteria suggestive of genuine cognitive impairment, with the differences score of major NCD being greater (p < .01) than the mild NCD. Group differences remained significant (p < .001) after adjusting for the effects of age and education. When the NCD groups were compared to the no diagnosis group, ROC curve analysis produced an AUC of .84, with a sensitivity of .72 and specificity of .83. Conclusions Findings from this study validate the established difference score between easy and hard subtests of the MSVT, and suggest that the difference score on a valid MSVT profile yields diagnostically relevant information pertaining to the level of an individual’s neurocognitive impairment.