Validation of the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-III in Mild Cognitive Impairment in Arabic Speakers in Egypt

Abstract

Background and Aims: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) represents an important point on the pathway to developing dementia and a target for early detection and intervention. There is a shortage of validated cognitive screening tools in Arabic to diagnose MCI. The aim of this study was to validate Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-III (ACE-III) (Egyptian-Arabic version) in a sample of patients with MCI, to provide cut-off scores in Egyptian-Arabic speakers. Methods: A total of 24 patients with MCI and 54 controls were included in the study and were administered the Egyptian-Arabic version of the ACE-III. Results: There was a statistically significant difference (p < 0.001) in the total ACE-III score between MCI patients (mean 75.83, standard deviation (SD) 8.1) and controls (mean 86.26, SD 6.74). There was also a statistically significant difference between MCI patients and controls in the memory, fluency, and visuospatial sub-scores of the ACE-III (p < 0.05) but not in attention and language sub-scores. Using a receiver operator characteristic curve, the optimal cut-off score for diagnosing MCI on the ACE-III total score was 81, with 75% sensitivity, 82% specificity, and 80% accuracy. Conclusions: The results of this study provide objective validation of the Egyptian-Arabic version of the ACE-III as a screening tool for MCI, with good sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy that are comparable to other translated versions of the ACE-III in MCI.