Modified cued recall test in the French population with Down syndrome: A retrospective medical records analysis

Background Adults with Down syndrome (DS) are at increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease (AD) due to genetic predisposition. Identification of patients with AD is difficult since intellectual disabilities (ID) may confound diagnosis. The objective of this study was to evaluate the ability of the French version of the modified cued recall test (mCRT) to distinguish between subjects with and without AD in the adult DS population. Methods This was a retrospective, single‐centre, medical records study including data between March 2014 and July 2020. Adults aged ≥30 years with DS who had at least one mCRT record available were eligible. Age, sex and ID level were extracted, and subjects were attributed to three groups: patients with AD, patients with co‐occurring conditions that may impact cognitive function and subjects without AD. mCRT scores, adjusted by sex, age and ID level, were compared between groups. The optimal cut‐off value to distinguish between patients with and without AD was determined using the receiver operating characteristic curve. The impact of age and ID level on mCRT scores was assessed. Results Overall, 194 patients with DS were included: 12 patients with AD, 94 patients with co‐occurring conditions and 88 healthy subjects. Total recall scores were significantly lower (P