Screening for dementia using an informant interview.

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Dementia screening is crucial for early intervention and management.
• Existing screening tools may be influenced by factors like education and premorbid ability.
• Informant-based assessments offer a unique perspective on cognitive changes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of an informant interview as a screening and assessment instrument for dementia.
• To develop and validate informant-based scales for dementia detection.
• To compare the performance of informant scales with established neuropsychological tests and the MMSE.

Main Methods:

• A community survey of 398 individuals aged 78+.
• Participants underwent neuropsychological testing and DSM-IV dementia diagnosis.
• Informants were interviewed about changes in everyday cognitive functioning over five years.
• Factor analysis was used to construct 31-item and 12-item informant scales.

Main Results:

• A large general factor emerged from the informant interview items.
• The 31-item scale achieved 89% sensitivity and 89% specificity for dementia detection.
• The 12-item scale demonstrated 83% sensitivity and 87% specificity.
• Correlations with neuropsychological subtests ranged from .4 to .7.
• Informant scales were less affected by premorbid ability and education than the MMSE.

Conclusions:

• Informant interviews provide a valuable tool for dementia screening and assessment.
• The developed informant scales are sensitive and specific in detecting dementia.
• These scales offer an advantage over the MMSE by being less influenced by educational background and prior cognitive function.