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. 2023 Jun 12:15:1124731.
doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2023.1124731. eCollection 2023.

Reliability and validity of the electronic version of the Hopkins verbal learning test-revised in middle-aged and elderly Chinese people

Lichen Jiang  1 , Ming Xu  1 , Shunyao Xia  2   3 , Jiahui Zhu  2   3 , Qi Zhou  2   3 , Luoyi Xu  4 , Chuan Shi  2   3 , Daxing Wu  1   5   6
Affiliations

Reliability and validity of the electronic version of the Hopkins verbal learning test-revised in middle-aged and elderly Chinese people

Lichen Jiang et al. Front Aging Neurosci. .

Abstract

Background: The aging population is increasing, making it essential to have a standardized, convenient, and valid electronic memory test that can be accessed online for older people and caregivers. The electronic version of the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised (HVLT-R) as a test with these advantages and its reliability and validity has not yet been tested. Thus, this study examined the reliability and validity of the electronic version of the HVLT-R in middle-aged and elderly Chinese people to provide a scientific basis for its future dissemination and use.

Methods: We included 1,925 healthy participants aged over 40, among whom 38 were retested after 3-6 months. In addition, 65 participants completed both the pad and paper-and-pencil versions of the HVLT-R (PAP-HVLT-R). We also recruited 42 Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients, and 45 amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) patients. All participants completed the Pad-HVLT-R, the Hong Kong Brief Cognitive Test (HKBC), the Brief Visual Memory Test-Revised (BVMT-R), and the Logical Memory Test (LM).

Results: (1) Reliability: the Cronbach's α value was 0.94, the split-half reliability was 0.96. The test-retest correlation coefficients were moderate, ranging from 0.38 to 0.65 for direct variables and 0.16 to 0.52 for derived variables; (2) Concurrent validity: the Pad-HVLT-R showed a moderate correlation with the HKBC and BVMT-R, with correlation coefficients between total recall of 0.41 and 0.54, and between long-delayed recall of 0.42 and 0.59, respectively. It also showed a high correlation with the LM, with correlation coefficients of 0.72 for total recall and 0.62 for long-delayed recall; (3) Convergent validity: the Pad-HVLT-R was moderately correlated with the PAP version, with correlation coefficients ranging from 0.29 to 0.53 for direct variables and 0.15 to 0.43 for derived variables; (4) Discriminant capacity: the Pad-HVLT-R was effective in differentiating AD patients, as demonstrated by the ROC analysis with AUC values of 0.834 and 0.934 for total recall and long-delayed recall, respectively.

Conclusion: (1) The electronic version of HVLT-R has good reliability and validity in middle-aged and elderly Chinese people; (2) The electronic version of HVLT-R can be used as an effective tool to distinguish AD patients from healthy people.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI); computerized applications; reliability; validity.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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