Cognitive screening of alcohol dependence and/or ARBD - Version 1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The use of brief cognitive screening measures to explore the neuropsychological profiles of individuals with a history of alcohol dependence and those diagnosed with ARBD
IRAS ID
155916
Contact name
Pamela Brown
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Greater Glasgow & Clyde
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 5 months, 15 days
Research summary
Prolonged alcohol misuse can lead to a range of physical health problems, including alcohol related brain damage (ARBD). There is concern that the prevalence of ARBD is increasing (Chiang, 2002; Smith & Hillman, 1999); and yet it is often under-diagnosed, having an adverse impact on opportunities for intervention and recovery. In addition to ARBD, the neurotoxic effects of chronic alcohol misuse have been shown to cause various cognitive impairments in individuals who are not considered to have this neuropsychiatric syndrome, potentially affecting ability to engage in treatment and subsequently impacting on prognosis and relapse rates (Green et al., 2010). Despite the recognition of the need for brief cognitive screening instruments to allow early identification of difficulties, there has been a paucity of research exploring cognitive screening tools with these populations. This study aims to investigate the use of two brief cognitive screening measures (Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination-III, Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status) and a brief measure of executive functioning (Trail Making Test) with individuals with a history of alcohol dependence and those with a diagnosis of ARBD. Individuals will be recruited from in-patient and out-patient settings across Glasgow Addictions Service and will have been abstinent for a minimum of five weeks. It is hypothesised that those individuals with a diagnosis of ARBD will show significantly poorer memory and executive functioning scores than those individuals with a chronic history of alcohol misuse without a diagnosis. This study will explore the sensitivity and specificity of these brief cognitive screening instruments to correctly categorise individuals who have previously received a diagnosis of Alcohol Related Brain Damage. The neuropsychological profiles of the ARBD and non-ARBD group using these measures will also be discussed. This study will use a between-groups design and aims to recruit 26 individuals to each group.
REC name
London - Surrey Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/LO/0088
Date of REC Opinion
14 Jan 2015
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion