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. 2022 Jan-Dec:37:15333175221129381.
doi: 10.1177/15333175221129381.

The Tree Drawing Test in Evolution: An Explorative Longitudinal Study in Alzheimer's Disease

Michelangelo Stanzani Maserati  1 , Marialaura Matacena  2 , Flavia Baccari  1 , Corrado Zenesini  1 , Roberto Gallassi  3 , Sabina Capellari  1   3 , Corrado Matacena  4
Affiliations

The Tree Drawing Test in Evolution: An Explorative Longitudinal Study in Alzheimer's Disease

Michelangelo Stanzani Maserati et al. Am J Alzheimers Dis Other Demen. 2022 Jan-Dec.

Abstract

Objective: To study the evolution of the Tree Drawing Test (TDT) in a group of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients.

Methods: A total of 33 AD patients were consecutively evaluated by Mini Mental State Evaluation (MMSE) and TDT. The evolution of the TDT parameters, trunk-to-crown (TC) and space occupation (SO) index, were analyzed.

Results: The median age at first visit was 79 years. Globally, trees drawn by patients showed an evolution characterized by a progressive reduction of the crown compared to the trunk. TC index showed a significant linear growth change (2.52 points per year) while SO index did not significantly increase. No significant associations were found examining the relations between MMSE and TC and SO index.

Conclusions: TDT could represent a complementary technique to the main neuropsychological screening tests for orienting cognitive impairment diagnosis and an aid in following the evolution of cognitive impairment over time in AD patients.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; dementia; personality; projective techniques; tree drawing test.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Spaghetti plot of individual trajectories over the time (gray) and their linear prediction (black) for MMSEc, TC and SO index. N = 33.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Examples of trees drawn longitudinally.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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