Retention rates on RBANS memory subtests in elderly adults

J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol. 2008 Mar;21(1):26-33. doi: 10.1177/0891988707311030.

Abstract

Identification of memory impairment is important for neuropsychological diagnostic and research applications, and retention rates on verbal and visual memory tests can provide useful information when characterizing a variety of neurological and psychiatric disorders. Although the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) is becoming a popular screening battery for cognitive functions, normative data on retention rates are not available. The retention rates of verbal and visual material were evaluated in a sample of clinical patients (n = 109) compared to a healthy control group (n = 718). Individual subtest retention rates were converted to age-corrected scaled scores based on the cumulative distribution of raw scores obtained by an elderly community-dwelling sample. Compared with the healthy normative sample, the percent retention found for the clinical group was significantly lower on all 3 RBANS memory subtests. These preliminary data suggest that retention rates of the RBANS memory subtests may add to the clinical utility of this test as a neuropsychological diagnostic and research tool.

MeSH terms

  • Age Factors
  • Aged
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Memory Disorders / diagnosis*
  • Memory Disorders / epidemiology*
  • Neuropsychological Tests
  • Retention, Psychology*
  • Severity of Illness Index
  • Verbal Behavior
  • Visual Perception