Age, education and test performance on the Finnish CERAD

Objectives - The purpose of this study was to clarify the effects of age and education on CERAD (Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease) test performances. Material and methods - We present preliminary data on CERAD test results for a sample of elderly normal Finns (n = 40, age 58-85 years). Results - Our results show no significant correlation between age and CERAD test results. Significant differences were found between subjects with low versus high education in nine CERAD test scores. The mean scores in the low-education group were near the cut-off point in the naming test, whereas the mean scores of the high-education group nearly reached the ceiling on six test scores. These differences were evident in the wordlist learning test, which has previously been argued to be unaffected by educational level. Savings scores were unaffected by education. Conclusion - The results underline the importance of taking into account the educational level of persons with subjective memory complaints when screening with CERAD for mild cognitive impairment and preclinical Alzheimer's disease.