[A principal component analysis of the AGGIR scale in demented elderly patients]

AGGIR grid is the national standardized instrument determining aimed at the dependency of old people in France living in institutions as well as in the community. Attribution of the governmental financial assistance APA (Allocation Personnalisée d'Autonomie) depends essentially on the classification of frail old people in 6 degrees of dependency (GIR1 to GIR6). The aim of the present study was to test the reliability of this grid to evaluate the degree of dependency in demented elderly people. Mild, moderate or severe demented patients were included in the study (n= 120). A factorial validation of the A GGIR grid was performed by principal components analysis (PCA). This analysis showed a 5-factor solution: factor 1 named the property factor (27 percent of the variance), factor 2 named the dynamic factor (21 percent),factor 3 named the cognitive factor (20 percent), factor 4 named the external mobility factor (11 percent) and factor 5 named the communication factor (11 percent). The result showed that the AGGIR grid takes physical dependency more into account than psychological and behavioral dependency. This result suggests a need for readjustment of the AGGIR grid for demented patients by adding new variables taking into account psychosocial and behavioral disorders.