Verbal fluency tests reliability in a Brazilian multicentric study, ELSA-Brasil

• Main Authors: Valéria Maria de Azeredo Passos, Luana Giatti, Sandhi Maria Barreto, Roberta Carvalho Figueiredo, Paulo Caramelli, Isabela Benseñor, Maria de Jesus Mendes da Fonseca, Nagela Valadão Cade, Alessandra Carvalho Goulart, Maria Angélica Nunes, Márcia Guimarães de Mello Alves, Ana Angélica Martins da Trindade
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Academia Brasileira de Neurologia (ABNEURO) 2011-10-01
• Series: Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria
• Subjects: testes de fluência verbal; concordância; estudo multicêntrico; coorte
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0004-282X2011000600017&lng=en&tlng=en
• ISSN: 1678-4227

Verbal Fluency Tests (VFT) are commonly used to assess executive functions and language in clinical and epidemiological studies. These tests were included to access cognitive function and predictors to its decline in ELSA-Brasil (Longitudinal Study of Adults' Health), a cohort that investigates incidence and predictors of chronic diseases among 15,000 civil servants from six public educational institutions. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the reliability of VFT scoring by supervisors of. ELSA research centers, who independently judged 120 category (animals) and 120 phonemic (F letter) tests. METHOD: Their scores were compared to a reference standard score obtained by independent judgment of two experts. Intraclass correlation coefficient ratings reliability and Bland-Altman plot examined patterns of ratings disagreement. RESULTS: Scores were very similar among ELSA centers and a high level of agreement was observed between each center and the reference standard. CONCLUSION: The high consistency of VFT scores confirms reliability and validity of the test and assures quality for its use in multicenter studies.