Research Article

Repeatable battery for assessment of neuropsychological status in early Parkinson's disease†

  1. Chengwu Yang MD, MS1,
  2. Elizabeth Garrett-Mayer PhD1,2,
  3. Jay S. Schneider PhD3,
  4. Stephen M. Gollomp MD3,4,
  5. Barbara C. Tilley PhD1,*

Article first published online: 18 MAY 2009

DOI: 10.1002/mds.22552

Issue

Movement Disorders

Movement Disorders

Volume 24, Issue 10, pages 1453–1460, 30 July 2009

Additional Information

How to Cite

Yang, C., Garrett-Mayer, E., Schneider, J. S., Gollomp, S. M. and Tilley, B. C. (2009), Repeatable battery for assessment of neuropsychological status in early Parkinson's disease. Mov. Disord., 24: 1453–1460. doi: 10.1002/mds.22552

Author Information

  1. 1

    Department of Biostatistics, Bioinformatics, and Epidemiology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina

  2. 2

    Hollings Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina

  3. 3

    Department of Pathology, Anatomy and Cell Biology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

  4. 4

    Lankenau Hospital, Wynnewood, Pennsylvania

*135 Cannon Street, Suite 303Q, Charleston, SC 29425

  1. †

    Potential conflict of interest: None reported.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 24 JUL 2009
  2. Article first published online: 18 MAY 2009
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 2 MAR 2009
  4. Manuscript Revised: 19 DEC 2008
  5. Manuscript Received: 30 SEP 2008

Funded by

  • NIH
  • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Grant Numbers: U01NS043127, U01NS043128, U10NS44415, 44555
  • NIA RCMAR. Grant Number: 3P30 AG021677-02S1

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Keywords:

  • RBANS;
  • Parkinson's disease;
  • confirmatory factor analysis;
  • exploratory factor analysis;
  • psychometric properties

Abstract

Adequate reliability and valid factor structure are prerequisites for appropriate use of a measure in a population. Although the Repeatable Battery for Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) has been used to examine cognition in Parkinson's disease (PD), its reliability and factor structure have not been examined in this population. This study examined the reliability and factor structure of the RBANS in participants with de novo PD recruited for two NIH Exploratory Trials in Parkinson's Disease (NET-PD), using Cronbach's α and factor analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was implemented on the factor structure proposed in the RBANS manual, and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted to identify a valid factor structure given the proposed one was not supported. The RBANS exhibited poor reliability in participants with NET-PD. Cronbach's α ranged from 0.03 to 0.74 for the five domains and the full scale. CFA results indicated that the proposed factor structure in the RBANS manual was not supported in this sample. EFA identified a two-factor structure for six of the 12 RBANS items. Six items were eliminated due to low correlation with other items or severe ceiling effects. This new factor structure was validated by another CFA. The two domains have fair reliability. Cronbach's α ranged from 0.65 to 0.74 for the two factors in the two datasets. These results suggest that the current RBANS domain and total scores may not provide valid measurement of the neuropsychological status for patients with early PD. © 2009 Movement Disorder Society

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