Longitudinal examination of American National Adult Reading Test (AMNART) performance in dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT): validation and correction based on degree of cognitive decline

The American National Adult Reading Test (AMNART) was constructed to provide a valid and stable estimate of premorbid verbal IQ (VIQ) in dementing individuals. However, recent studies have brought into question its validity in patients with dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT). The present study was designed to longitudinally assess the validity of the AMNART in 40 DAT patients and 40 demographically matched normal control (NC) subjects. The results showed that VIQ estimates for patients with DAT were significantly lower than those of NC subjects and declined significantly over time with increasing dementia severity as measured by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Dementia Rating Scale (DRS). An MMSE-based correction factor was derived for the DAT group which allows for the effective estimation of premorbid VIQ in these patients.