Alzheimer's disease through the “10 warning signs” approach

Abstract

Objective : To assess the validity of the 10 Warning Signs in identifying AD in the population. Methods : A cross-sectional study was undertaken in which 3038 consenting elderly >60 years old of both sexes (1790 urban and 1248 rural) in Egypt were screened for the presence of any of the 10-Warning Signs (possible AD) recommended by the Alzheimer's Association. They were assessed for cognitive impairment (AD) by Mini-mental State Examination. The results obtained by the screening for warning signs were compared with the presence of AD as evidenced by the presence of cognitive impairment. Results: The prevalence of possible AD in the study population was 19.7%, and that of AD was 8.8%. Possible AD was observed to be significantly higher in rural residents, females, increasing age, the unmarried, illiterate, those not working and the poor. The possibility of AD being present increased with the number of warning signs. The 10-Warning Signs screening test had 100% sensitivity and 88.1% specificity, false positives 11.9%, false negatives 0%, predictive value of a positive test 44.9% and that of a negative test 100%. Conclusion: The 10-Warning Signs approach is likely to identify all those suffering from AD, and can be a very useful tool for population-based screening for AD in the elderly at the grass-root level.