Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate whether telephone-based cognitive screening could be an effective and sustainable alternative to traditional in-person neuropsychological assessment.

Background: Early cognitive impairments can involve attention, memory, executive functions, visuo-spatial abilities, and language, progressing from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to dementia, with significant impacts on daily life in Parkinson’ patients. Distinguishing these stages requires specific assessments, further complicated by associated behavioral disorders.

Method: The study included 145 participants (42 PD patients, 103 healthy controls) aged 38–91 years. All underwent a telephone-based cognitive assessment battery recently standardized for the Italian population, including the TICS, t-FAB, t-VFB, and tests from the TLS. PD patients also received an in-person MoCA assessment, and caregivers completed questionnaires on behavioral disorders and daily activity autonomy. These measures assessed the construct and ecological validity of the telephone tests. Diagnostic accuracy analyses determined the tests’ ability to distinguish PD patients from healthy controls and cognitively normal PD patients from those with PD-MCI.

Results: Correlations between telephone-based cognitive tests and the MoCA showed significant positive relationships for the TICS, t-FAB, t-VFB subtests, and the verb naming task of the TLS. Significant correlations were also found between functional independence measures and the TICS, all t-VFB subtests, the backward digit span, and the verb naming task of the TLS. ROC curve analyses showed the highest accuracy in distinguishing PD patients from healthy controls with the TICS, motor subtest of the t-FAB, alternate fluency from the t-VFB, and the verb naming task of the TLS. These tests also effectively differentiated cognitively normal PD patients from those with PD-MCI.

Conclusion: Telephone-based cognitive tests are valuable for screening cognitive impairment in PD. The battery effectively distinguished PD patients from healthy controls and identified cognitive decline within the PD group. It showed strong correlations with the MoCA, confirming construct validity, and was positively associated with functional autonomy, supporting ecological validity.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/telephone-based-cognitive-screening-for-mci-to-dementia-in-parkinsons-disease/