Development of the Reading Cognitive Test Kyoto (ReaCT Kyoto) for Early Detection of Cognitive Decline in Patients with Hearing Loss

BACKGROUND: Early detection of cognitive decline allows timely intervention to delay progression of dementia. However, current cognitive evaluation tools often include items delivered via verbal forms of instruction, which can cause poor performance in patients with hearing loss. OBJECTIVE: To develop and validate a cognitive screening battery, the Reading Cognitive Test Kyoto (ReaCT Kyoto), comprising test items given through non-verbal instruction. METHODS: A cross-sectional and multi-center study was conducted in the three medical institutes. ReaCT Kyoto was designed to evaluate domains of “registration,” “repetition,” “delayed recall,” “visuospatial recognition,” “orientation in time and place,” and “executive function.” The Japanese version of the Mini-Mental State Examination Test (MMSE-J) and ReaCT Kyoto were applied by experienced psychotherapists. Concurrent validity was evaluated between the ReaCT Kyoto Test and MMSE-J and between the ReaCT Kyoto Test and physician-diagnosed dementia. RESULTS: ReaCT Kyoto was validated in a sample of 115 participants. The mean age of subjects was 81.0±6.4 years, and the sample comprised 53.0% females. The area under the receiver operating curves was 0.95 for detecting physician-diagnosed dementia. When classifying patients in accordance with presence or absence of hearing loss, the AUCs were 0.93 and 0.97 for those with and without hearing loss, respectively. With a cut-off score of < 29 points for suspected dementia, ReaCT Kyoto correctly classified 90.4% of the subjects as belonging to the group with or without physician-diagnosed dementia. CONCLUSION: ReaCT Kyoto provides an appropriate solution for detection of cognitive impairment in persons with or without hearing loss.