The Cognitive Change Index in the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center setting: Self‐ and informant‐ratings for perceived cognitive decline

Abstract

Introduction: The Cognitive Change Index (CCI) is a brief questionnaire that assesses self and informant perceptions regarding cognitive function. We examined the ability of the CCI to distinguish between cognitively unimpaired (CU) older adults and those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia. Methods: 485 individuals from the Indiana Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (IADRC) and their study partners completed 20-item self and informant versions of the CCI. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves were analyzed to assess differentiation between CU and those with impairment. Results: High area under the ROC curve (AUC) values were obtained when using the self and informant CCI forms to distinguish CU individuals from those with impairment, with AUC values of 0.803 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.761-0.844) and 0.914 (95% CI = 0.886-0.942) for the self and informant forms, respectively. Discussion: The CCI can serve as a useful screening instrument in the context of a multimodal assessment strategy for MCI and dementia. Highlights: Novel research that uses the Cognitive Change Index (CCI) for dementia screening. Our findings suggest that CCI can distinguish those with dementia compared to those without. These findings can be correlated to other screening instruments. Results could see the CCI play a role in early Alzheimer's disease (AD) screening and diagnosis.