Preliminary insights into language impairments across the stages of Alzheimer’s disease in Turkish-speaking adults

The present study aims to examine the language impairments observed across various stages of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) in Turkish-speaking individuals. The study involved 24 participants diagnosed with AD (12 women, 12 men; mean age = 82.00 ± 6.75) and a control group of 24 healthy adults (12 women, 12 men; mean age = 80.71 ± 8.61). All participants completed the Test Your Memory-Turkish (TYM-TR) and the Aphasia Language Assessment Test (ADD). Data analysis was conducted using SPSS 24 software with descriptive statistics, Spearman’s correlation coefficient, and the Mann-Whitney U test. Participants with AD scored lower on the TYM-TR and ADD than healthy participants. A strong positive correlation was observed between scores on the TYM-TR and ADD tests in both participant groups. The test scores decreased as AD stages progressed. This study provides a framework for SLTs to identify AD stages and tailor language interventions accordingly.