Validation of the Egyptian-Arabic Version of the Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination III (ACE-III) in Diagnosing Dementia
Tarik Qassem, Mohamed S. Khater, Tamer Emara, Doha Rasheedy, Heba M. Tawfik, Ahmed Mohammedin, Mohammad F. Tolba, Karim Abdel Aziz
Abstract
<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> The Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination III (ACE-III) (2012) is a brief cognitive battery that assesses five sub-domains of cognition (attention and orientation, memory, verbal fluency, language, and visuospatial abilities) which are commonly impaired in dementia. <b><i>Objective:</i></b> We aimed to validate the Egyptian-Arabic ACE-III in dementia patients, and to provide cut-off scores for the ACE-III in diagnosing dementia in Egyptian-Arabic speakers. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> We included 37 patients with dementia (Alzheimer’s disease, <i>n</i> = 25, vascular dementia, <i>n</i> = 8, and dementia with Lewy bodies, <i>n</i> = 4) and 43 controls. <b><i>Results:</i></b> There was a statistically significant difference (<i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001) in the total ACE-III score between dementia patients (mean 49.81 ± 18.58) and controls (mean 84.84 ± 6.36). There was also a statistically significant difference between dementia patients and controls in all sub-score domains of the ACE-III (<i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001). Using a receiver operator characteristic curve, the optimal cut-off score for dementia on the ACE-III total score was 72, (89% sensitivity, 95% specificity, 92% accuracy). <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> The results of this study provide objective validation of the Egyptian-Arabic version of the ACE-III as a screening tool for dementia, with high sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy comparable to other translated versions of the ACE-III.