Variables associated with cognitive impairment in adults who misuse alcohol as assessed by the Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination (revised)

Background: The Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination-Revised (ACE-R) is a widely used screening tool for Dementia. Although it is recommended for use in detecting cognitive impairment in people who misuse alcohol (Scottish Government 2007), the ACE-R has not been validated with this population. This study compared the performance of a group of people who misuse alcohol on the ACE-R with published normative data. The study examines whether deficits in ACE-R performance are associated with previous experience of a withdrawal from alcohol, duration of alcohol use and units consumed per week. Methods:Data from 77 attendees at the Alcohol Liaison Service in NHS Ayrshire and Arran who had completed the ACE-R was extracted from an existing database and included in the study. The ALS group ACE-R total and domain scores were compared to those of the original validation control group used by Mioshi et al (2006). Using independent t–tests, differences in overall ACE-R performance and domain performance were examined. Independent t-tests were also used to determine the impact of previous withdrawal on ACE-R scores. Correlation analyses and multiple regression were used to examine relationships between aspects of drinking history (previous withdrawal, duration of use and units consumed per week) and ACE-R outcome. Results:Total ACE-R scores, memory and fluency domain scores were significantly lower in the ALS group compared to normative data (p