Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 22, 2026

The 4 Mountains Test: A Short Test of Spatial Memory with High Sensitivity for the Diagnosis of Pre-dementia Alzheimer's Disease
Published on: October 13, 2016
DAD-6: A 6-ltem version of the Disability Assessment for Dementia scale which may differentiate Alzheimer's disease
J de Rotrou1, Y-H Wu, L Hugonot-Diener
1Service de Gériatrie, Hôpital Broca, AP-HP, 54-56 rue Pascal, Paris, France. jocelyne.derotrou@brc.aphp.fr
Background:
The need to detect early changes in instrumental activities of daily life led us to modify the Disability Assessment for Dementia Scale (DAD) by focusing on executive components of 6 instrumental items (DAD-6).
Aim:
To evaluate the relevance of the DAD-6 for detecting early impairment in a nondemented population.
Methods:
The DAD-6 was administered to informants of 84 patients: 31 with mild dementia (MD), 53 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 55 healthy controls.
Results:
DAD-6 scores gradually decreased with increasing severity of the cognitive status [18 in healthy controls vs. 15.1 ± 3.2 in MCI versus 9.6 ± 3.5 in MD, p < 0.0001). Receiver-operating characteristic curve analyses yielded an optimal cut score of 14 to distinguish MCI from MD with a sensitivity of 0.83 (95% confidence interval 0.74-0.92) and a specificity of 0.84 (0.71-0.94), and a cut score of 15 to distinguish single-domain MCI from multi-domain MCI with a sensitivity of 0.96 (0.90-0.99) and a specificity of 0.54 (0.33-0.75).
Conclusion:
The DAD-6 reliably detects early loss of autonomy due to cognitive impairment.
Related Concept Videos
Dementia l: Introduction
Dementia
The progression of dementia is generally gradual.
Alzheimer's Disease: Overview
The clinical diagnosis of AD hinges on the presence of memory and other cognitive impairments. Biomarkers, such as changes in Aβ and tau...
Alzheimer Disease l: Introduction

