Derivation of norms for the Dutch version of the Edinburgh cognitive and behavioral ALS screen.
BACKGROUND
The Edinburgh cognitive and behavioral ALS screen (ECAS) was developed specifically to detect cognitive and behavioral changes in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Differences with regard to normative data of different (language) versions of neuropsychological tests such as the ECAS exist.


OBJECTIVE
To derive norms for the Dutch version of the ECAS.


METHODS
Normative data were derived from a large sample of 690 control subjects and cognitive profiles were compared between a matched sample of 428 patients with ALS and 428 control subjects.


RESULTS
Age, level of education, and sex were significantly associated with performance on the ECAS in the normative sample. ECAS data were not normally distributed and therefore normative data were expressed as percentile ranks. The comparison of ECAS scores between patients and control subjects demonstrated that patients obtained significantly lower scores for language, executive function, verbal fluency, and memory, which is in line with the established cognitive profile of ALS.


CONCLUSION
For an accurate interpretation of ECAS results, it is important to derive normative data in large samples with nonparametric methods. The present normative data provide healthcare professionals with an accurate estimate of how common or uncommon patients' ECAS scores are and provide a useful supplement to existing cut-off scores.
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D000368:Aged D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis D016022:Case-Control Studies D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction D056344:Executive Function D005260:Female D006801:Humans D007802:Language D008297:Male D008568:Memory D008875:Middle Aged D009426:Netherlands D009483:Neuropsychological Tests D012016:Reference Values D014177:Translations
Edinburgh cognitive and behavioral ALS screen Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis normative data cognitive dysfunction