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Education correction using years in school or reading grade-level equivalent? Comparing the accuracy of two methods in diagnosing HIV-associated neurocognitive impairment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 March 2007

MONA ROHIT ,
ANDREW LEVINE ,
CHARLES HINKIN ,
SHOGIK ABRAMYAN ,
ERNESTINE SAXTON ,
MIGUEL VALDES-SUEIRAS  and
ELYSE SINGER
MONA ROHIT
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, National Neurological AIDS Bank—University of California, Los Angeles, California
ANDREW LEVINE
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, National Neurological AIDS Bank—University of California, Los Angeles, California
CHARLES HINKIN
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine—University of California, Los Angeles, California Department of Psychiatry, Veterans Administration Greater Los Angeles Health Care System, Los Angeles, California
SHOGIK ABRAMYAN
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, National Neurological AIDS Bank—University of California, Los Angeles, California
ERNESTINE SAXTON
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, National Neurological AIDS Bank—University of California, Los Angeles, California Department of Neurology, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, California
MIGUEL VALDES-SUEIRAS
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, National Neurological AIDS Bank—University of California, Los Angeles, California
ELYSE SINGER
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, National Neurological AIDS Bank—University of California, Los Angeles, California
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Abstract

Neuropsychological tests generally require adjustments for years of education when determining the presence of neurocognitive impairment. However, evidence indicates that educational quality, as assessed with reading tests, may be a better reflection of educational attainment among African Americans. Thus, African Americans with poor educational quality may be incorrectly classified with neurocognitive impairment based on neuropsychological tests. We compared the accuracy of neuropsychological test scores standardized using reading grade-equivalent versus years of education in predicting neurocognitive impairment among a sample of Whites and African-American adults who were HIV+. Participants were examined by a neurologist and classified with or without HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders according to accepted criteria. Participants were also classified as impaired versus not impaired based on their neuropsychological test scores standardized by 1) self-reported education or 2) WRAT-3 reading grade-level. Cross tabulation tables were used to determine agreement of the two methods in detecting impairment. Among African-Americans, standardized scores derived from reading scores had greater specificity than those derived from years of education (84.1% vs. 77.3). Among the Whites, correction based on years of education had both greater specificity and sensitivity. The results suggest that reading tests may be a useful alternative for determining NCI among African Americans. (JINS, 2007, 13, 462–470.)

Keywords

HIVDementiaNeuropsychologyWRAT-3EducationReading
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 13 , Issue 3 , May 2007 , pp. 462 - 470
Copyright
© 2007 The International Neuropsychological Society

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