Clock‐drawing and dementia in the community: A longitudinal study

Abstract

Abstract The clock ‐drawing test was used in a longitudinal study of 183 dementing individuals and their caregivers. Clock‐drawing performance was measured by a simple standardized score which correlated significantly with other measures of cognitive function. Clock performance showed high individual consistency of performance as well as a significant deterioration from the initial level of performance to that obtained at 1‐year follow‐up. Dementing individuals who had experienced a significantly greater decline in clock‐drawing performance at 1‐year follow‐up were more likely to have caregivers who had already decided to institutionalize them. This suggests that the caregiver's decision to institutionalize was based in part on the perception of a rapid decline in their dependant's cognitive function. Thus, rate of change in cognitive function may prove to be as important a variable as the level of deterioration. The clock‐drwing test appears to be a useful adjunct in the assessment and monitoring of the progressive dementias in the community.