Objectives:
In a population-based study of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), to validate the assessment of social cognition in older adults.
Methods:
Cross-sectional study of 902 adults aged 65+ with mean age 76.6 years (SD 8.06). We created a social cognition composite comprising standardized z scores on the Social Norms Questionnaire and the 10-item Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test. We identified associated factors and compared sensitivity, specificity, and the area under the curve of social cognition, for MCI defined as Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR)=0.5, to those of other cognitive domains. We calculated the impact of including social cognition on the proportion neuropsychologically classified as MCI.
Results:
Better social cognition was associated with younger age, female sex, higher education, better general cognition (mini-mental state examination), fewer…
