Abstract
Receiver operating characteristic analysis is a useful tool in validating a diagnostic marker. This technique was applied to a discriminant function model using selected electroencephalographic sleep measures (sleep maintenance, percentage of rapid-eye-movement sleep, and percentage of indeterminate non-rapid-eye-movement sleep) in elderly patients with major depression or dementia of the Alzheimer type. The diagnostic model correctly classified 79.8% of elderly depressed and demented patients. The area under the curve was 0.86, statistically different from 0.5, which would be expected by chance (P < .0001) and indicating good predictive power of the model. A logistic regression analysis demonstrated the reliability and stability of the diagnostic equation. (J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol 1991;4:30-33).
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