Background The high illiteracy rates in the North African and Middle Eastern region make direct cognitive testing challenging. Validated instruments for dementia in Arabic language are lacking specially those targeting low-educated subjects. Objectives The aim of this study was to develop a cognitive evaluation battery suitable for both educated and illiterate Egyptian elderly people. Design A cross-sectional study was conducted. Setting: Ain-Shams University geriatric and ophthalmology wards, geriatrics outpatient clinic, and geriatric clubs. Participants: 159 male and female participants aged ≥ 60 years were recruited. Measurements Cut-off points were determined according to DSM-IV criteria for dementia and MMSE scores which divided the participants into 3 quadrants as normal, having mild cognitive impairment and having dementia then application of the new battery test was done. Results Test re-test reliability ranged from adequate to high in most of its tests with r ≥ 0.7. There was a statistical significance between all battery tests when divided into normal and dementia according to DSM IV criteria except in digit span forward length, digit span backward length, stimulus cue of confrontation naming and judgment. Means and standard deviations were calculated for each battery subset, for the whole sample, for low-educated group and group with > 9 years education according to three quadrants of MMSE. Conclusion A new valid and reliable neurocognitive evaluation battery that can differentiate between normal, mild cognitive impairment, and dementia in both educated and illiterate subjects under the name of Ain Shams Cognitive Assessment (ASCA) scale is now available.

中文翻译：

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用于诊断埃及受过教育和文盲老年人轻度认知障碍和痴呆的认知评估电池模型

背景 北非和中东地区的高文盲率使得直接的认知测试具有挑战性。经验证的阿拉伯语痴呆症工具缺乏，特别是那些针对低教育对象的工具。目标 本研究的目的是开发一种适用于受过教育和文盲的埃及老年人的认知评估组合。设计 进行了横断面研究。环境：Ain-Shams 大学老年病和眼科病房、老年病门诊和老年病俱乐部。参与者：招募了159名年龄≥60岁的男性和女性参与者。测量值根据 DSM-IV 痴呆标准和 MMSE 评分确定，将参与者分为正常的 3 个象限，患有轻度认知障碍和痴呆症，然后应用新的电池测试。结果 重测信度在大部分测试中从足够到高不等，r ≥ 0.7。根据DSM IV标准分为正常和痴呆的所有电池测试之间存在统计学显着性，除了数字跨度向前长度，数字跨度向后长度，对抗命名和判断的刺激线索。根据 MMSE 的三个象限，计算每个电池组、整个样本、低教育组和 > 9 年教育组的平均值和标准差。结论 一种新的有效且可靠的神经认知评估组合，可以区分正常、轻度认知障碍，