Nippon Ronen Igakkai Zasshi. Japanese Journal of Geriatrics
Print ISSN : 0300-9173
Original Articles
Validity and reliability of the "Trail Making Peg" test as a performance measurement for evaluating the cognitive function
Takumi AbeTakashi JindoYuki SomaKenji TsunodaNaruki KitanoJi-Yeong YoonTomohiro Okura
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2015 Volume 52 Issue 1 Pages 71-78

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Abstract

Aim: To investigate the validity and reliability of a novel performance test, called the "Trail Making Peg" (TMP) test, for evaluating the cognitive function. Methods: We recruited 632 community-dwelling older adults (mean age: 73.3±5.2 years) as subjects for the assessment of the validity of the test and 319 adults (mean age: 73.1±5.2 years) as subjects for the assessment of reliability. Five cognitive tests (5-Cog) were used to evaluate the cognitive function, and the degree of cognitive decline was delineated for subjects scoring below 1 SD from the mean 5-Cog score. A receiver operating characteristic analysis was employed to calculate the cut-off point. Results: There were no sex differences in the TMP scores (P=0.951), and the TMP and 5-Cog scores were found to correlate significantly (r=-0.63) with each other. The Trail Making Peg test demonstrated an area under the curve of 0.855 for discriminating between non-cognitive decline and cognitive decline. At this cutoff point, the sensitivity was 85% and the specificity was 69%. The intraclass correlation coefficient of the TMP was 0.746. Conclusions: The TMP exhibits sufficient validity and reliability. Our results suggest that TMP is a useful screening test for detecting cognitive decline.

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© 2015 The Japan Geriatrics Society
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