Population Normative Data for the CERAD Word List and Victoria Stroop Test in Younger- and Middle-Aged Adults: Cross-Sectional Analyses from the Framingham Heart Study.

BACKGROUND/STUDY CONTEXT: To provide baseline normative data on tests of verbal memory and executive function for nondemented younger- and middle-aged adults. METHODS: The Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease word list memory task (CERAD-WL) and Victoria Stroop Test (VST) were administered to 3362 Framingham Heart Study (FHS) volunteer participants aged 24-78 years. Analyses of the effects of age, gender, and education were conducted. Normative data on traditional measures and error responses are reported for each test. RESULTS: Traditional measures were significantly associated with both age and education in this cohort. Error responses also evidenced significant age and education effects. CONCLUSION: These data provide a normative comparison for assessment of verbal memory and executive functioning capabilities in younger- and middle-aged adults and may be utilized as a tool for preclinical studies of disease in this population.

Mid-life Cardiovascular Risk Impacts Memory Function: The Framingham Offspring Study.

INTRODUCTION: This study incorporates unique error response analyses with traditional measures of memory to examine the association between mid-life cardiovascular risk factors and later-life memory function. METHODS: The Framingham Stroke Risk Profile (FSRP), a composite score of cardiovascular risk, was assessed in 1755 Framingham Offspring participants (54% women, mean age=54±9 y) from 1991 to 1995. Memory tests including Logical Memory and Visual Reproductions were administered from 2005 to 2008. Linear and logistic regression examined the association between FSRP and memory measures. Interaction between the presence of the ApoE4 allele and each FSRP component on the memory measures was also assessed. RESULTS: FSRP and the individual components of age, sex, and smoking were related to lower standard scores of memory. The new error response analyses reinforced the standard analyses and also identified new relationships. Participants with diabetes were found to make more errors on Logical Memory, and those with a history of smoking were found to make more errors on Visual Reproductions. Lastly, ApoE4 smokers experienced significant verbal memory loss, whereas ApoE4 smokers did not. CONCLUSIONS: Middle-aged healthy adults with cardiovascular risk factors including diabetes, history of smoking, and ApoE4 positivity were found to have greater later-life memory impairments.

Midlife cardiovascular risk impacts executive function: Framingham offspring study.

INTRODUCTION: Novel error scores and traditional indices of executive function (EF) were related to cardiovascular risk factors measured 10 to 15 years earlier. METHODS: From 1991 to 1995, the Framingham Stroke Risk Profile (FSRP), a composite score of cardiovascular risk, was ascertained in 1755 Framingham Offspring participants (54% women, mean age=54±9 y). Participants were administered EF tests, which included: FAS and Animals Fluency tests, Trail Making Test B (TrB), and Digit Span-Backwards (DS-B), from 2005 to 2009. Linear and logistic regression were used to relate the FSRP and its components to both error responses and traditional scores. RESULTS: Consistent with previous findings, the FSRP and the individual components, diabetes and sex, were associated with several traditional measures of EF. Of interest were relationships between the FSRP score and TrB Total Errors (P=0.04), DS-B% Total Errors (P=0.02) and DS-B Capacity Score (P=0.03), and prevalent CVD related to making FAS Perseverations in the 75th percentile (P=0.03). By comparison, FSRP and CVD were not related to the traditional DS-B or FAS scores. In addition, age was associated with higher Animals % Total Errors and % Perseverations among ApoE4+ individuals and with higher TrB Total Errors among ApoE4- individuals. CONCLUSIONS: For those middle-aged and healthy, including those who are ApoE4+, cardiovascular risk factors are related to impairments in EF as ascertained by novel errors and traditional measures.

Qualitative neuropsychological measures: normative data on executive functioning tests from the Framingham offspring study.

UNLABELLED: BACKGROUND/STUDY CONTEXT: Studies have found that executive functioning is affected early in the pathophysiological processes associated with Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia. There also exists a range of functioning on executive tasks during normal aging. Although qualitative data are commonly utilized in clinical practice for evaluating subtle changes in cognitive functioning and diagnostic discernment, it is not clear whether error responses used in clinical practice are also evident as normative behavior. METHODS: As part of an extensive battery of neuropsychological tests, executive functioning measures (i.e., Trail Making Test Part B, Similarities and Verbal Fluency tests) were administered via standardized administration prescript. Regression analyses were used to determine associations between vascular aging indices and qualitative performance measures. Descriptive statistics are included for 1907 cognitively normal individuals. RESULTS: Results suggest that although qualitative errors do occur, they are relatively infrequent within a presumably cognitively normal sample. Error commission rates on executive functioning tests are significantly associated with both age and education. CONCLUSION: Provided is a baseline profile of errors committed on tests of executive function across a range of age and educational levels. The normative data sets are included, stratified by age and educational achievement, for which to compare qualitative test performance of clinical and research populations.