The Italian version of Cognitive Function Instrument (CFI) for tracking changes in healthy elderly: results at 1-year follow-up

Cognitive Function Instrument (CFI) is a questionnaire aimed at detecting very early changes in cognitive and functional abilities and useful for monitoring cognitive decline in individuals without clinical impairment. The Italian version has been recently validated. The aim of the present study was to investigate the utility of the Italian version of CFI in tracking early cognitive changes in a cohort of healthy elderly subjects. A consecutive series of 257 cognitively healthy and functionally independent subjects, recruited either among relatives of patients attending our Memory Clinic or as volunteers after advertisement, underwent a baseline neuropsychological assessment. Of them, 157 subjects performed a 1-year follow-up assessment. All subjects completed the CFI, a short questionnaire composed of 14 items administered to both the subject and the referent (study-partner). Cognitive performance was assessed by Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS). At 1-year follow-up, Cronbach’s α was 0.79 (95% CI, 0.74–0.84) in self-report and 0.83 (95% CI, 0.79–0.87) for partner-report. CFI self-report correlated with MMSE (rS = − 0.22, p = 0.006) and RBANS (rS = − 0.23, p = 0.004). CFI partner-report showed negative correlation with MMSE (rS = − 0.17, p = 0.037) and RBANS (rS = − 0.20, p = 0.014). CFI 1-year follow-up score correlated with baseline both in self-report (rS = 0.56, p < 0.001) and partner-report (rS = 0.66, p < 0.001). Baseline CFI partner-report (p = 0.014) and CFI self+partner report (p = 0.023) were associated with RBANS total score less than 85 at 1-year follow-up, while only a trend was found considering baseline CFI self-report. Our results support the suitability of the Italian version of CFI for tracking cognitive changes along aging.