Abstract
Objectives. Evaluate the block-adaptive number series task of reasoning, as a time-efficient proxy of general cognitive ability in the Level-2 sample of the German National Cohort (NAKO), a population-based mega cohort.
Methods. The number series task consisted of two blocks of three items each, administered as part of the touchscreen-based assessment. Based on performance on the first three items, a second block of appropriate difficulty was automatically administered. Scoring of performance was based on the Rasch model. Relations of performance scores to age, sex, education, study centre, language proficiency, and scores on other cognitive tasks were examined.
Results. Except for one very difficult item, the data of the remaining 14 items showed sufficient fit to the Rasch model (Infit: 0.89–1.04; Outfit: 0.80–1.08). The resulting performance scores (N = 21,056) had a distribution that was truncated at very high levels of ability. The reliability of the performance estimates was satisfactory. Relations to age, sex, education, and the executive function factor of the other cognitive tasks in the NAKO supported the validity.
Conclusions. The number series task provides a valid proxy of general cognitive ability for the Level-2 sample of the NAKO, based on a highly time-efficient assessment procedure.
NAKO Investigators (Study Centre, Name, Affiliation)
1Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Centre Munich, German Research Centre for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany ([email protected])
2Department of Epidemiology, Institute for Medical Information Processing, Biometry and Epidemiology, Medical Faculty, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany ([email protected])
3Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany ([email protected], [email protected])
4Division of Cancer Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany ([email protected])
5Network Ageing Research, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany ([email protected])
6Division of Clinical Epidemiology and Ageing Research, German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany ([email protected])
7Institute for Prevention and Cancer Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine and Medical Centre, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany ([email protected])
8Institute of Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology (IMIBE), University of Duisburg-Essen, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany ([email protected], [email protected])
9Institute for Epidemiology and Social Medicine, University of Münster, Münster, Germany ([email protected], [email protected])
10Molecular Epidemiology Research Group, Max Delbrück Centre for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC), Berlin, Germany ([email protected], [email protected])
11Charité – University Medical Centre Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health (BIH), Berlin, Germany ([email protected])
12MDC/BIH Biobank, Max Delbrück Centre for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC), and Berlin Institute of Health (BIH), Berlin, Germany ([email protected])
13Institute for Social Medicine, Epidemiology, and Health Economics, Charité –University Medical Centre Berlin, Berlin, Germany ([email protected], [email protected])
14Department of Molecular Epidemiology, German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke, Nuthetal, Germany ([email protected])
15Institute of Nutritional Science, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany ([email protected])
16Department for Epidemiology, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), Braunschweig, Germany ([email protected], [email protected])
17PhD Programme ‘Epidemiology’, Braunschweig-Hannover, Germany ([email protected])
18Institute for Medical Biometry and Epidemiology, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany ([email protected], [email protected])
19Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology (BIPS), Bremen, Germany ([email protected], [email protected])
20Institute of Epidemiology, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany ([email protected])
21Institute for Community Medicine, Section Clinical-Epidemiological Research, University Medicine Greifswald (UMG), Greifswald, Germany ([email protected])
22Institute for Community Medicine, Section Epidemiology of Health Care and Community Health, University Medicine Greifswald (UMG), Greifswald, Germany ([email protected])
23German Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) Site Rostock/Greifswald, Germany ([email protected])
Acknowledgments
We thank all study participants and staff at the NAKO study centres, the data management and integration centre, and the NAKO head office who enabled the conduction of the study and made the collection of all data possible.
Statement of interest
H. J. Grabe has received travel grants and speakers honoraria from Fresenius Medical Care, Neuraxpharm, Servier, and Janssen Cilag as well as research funding from Fresenius Medical Care.
Wolfgang Hoffmann received lecture fees and/or travel support from Roche, AMGEN, Pfizer, and a royalty from Janssen-Cilag.