Normative Scores for Standard Neuropsychological Tests in the Oldest Old From the French Population-Based PAQUID Study

Abstract

There is an obvious lack of validated norms for elderly persons aged 85 and older for the large majority of the neuropsychological tests used in clinical practice. Yet this range of "oldest-old" individuals drastically increases worldwide and is the more likely to develop dementia. Providing clinicians validated and updated norms to accurately evaluate cognitive functioning in this population is an important issue in geriatrics. This study provides normative scores for 7 neuropsychological tests commonly used in clinical practice. Data were collected in a sample of 283 subjects aged 85 and older, included in the PAQUID study, a population-based cohort conducted in France. Normative scores were calculated according to 2 age ranges and 2 educational levels, and are presented in percentiles. The norms provided in the present study involve 7 tests that are widely used in the neuropsychological assessment of geriatrics populations and should be of help for clinicians.

Keywords: Neuropsychological tests; Normative data; Oldest-old.