A Normative Study of Lexical Verbal Fluency in an Educationally-Diverse Elderly Population.
- Author:
Bong Jo KIM
1
;
Cheol Soon LEE
;
Byoung Hoon OH
;
Chang Hyung HONG
;
Kang Soo LEE
;
Sang Joon SON
;
Changsu HAN
;
Moon Ho PARK
;
Hyun Ghang JEONG
;
Tae Hui KIM
;
Joon Hyuk PARK
;
Ki Woong KIM
Author Information
1. Department of Psychiatry, Gyeongsang National University College of Medicine, Jinju, Republic of Korea.
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Lexical verbal fluency;
Normative data;
Age;
Education;
Elders;
Korean
- MeSH:
Aged*;
Education;
Executive Function;
Humans;
Linear Models
- From:Psychiatry Investigation
2013;10(4):346-351
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
OBJECTIVE: Lexical fluency tests are frequently used to assess language and executive function in clinical practice. We investigated the influences of age, gender, and education on lexical verbal fluency in an educationally-diverse, elderly Korean population and provided its' normative information. METHODS: We administered the lexical verbal fluency test (LVFT) to 1676 community-dwelling, cognitively normal subjects aged 60 years or over. RESULTS: In a stepwise linear regression analysis, education (B=0.40, SE=0.02, standardized B=0.506) and age (B=-0.10, SE=0.01, standardized B=-0.15) had significant effects on LVFT scores (p<0.001), but gender did not (B=0.40, SE=0.02, standardized B=0.506, p>0.05). Education explained 28.5% of the total variance in LVFT scores, which was much larger than the variance explained by age (5.42%). Accordingly, we presented normative data of the LVFT stratified by age (60-69, 70-74, 75-79, and > or =80 years) and education (0-3, 4-6, 7-9, 10-12, and > or =13 years). CONCLUSION: The LVFT norms should provide clinically useful data for evaluating elderly people and help improve the interpretation of verbal fluency tasks and allow for greater diagnostic accuracy.
