[Abbreviated form of the Informant Questionnaire on cognitive decline in the elderly]

This study evaluated some psychometric qualities of the Dutch short form Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE-N). The score profile on the short form IQCODE-N was comparable in two outpatient populations. Short form and regular IQCODE-N are equivalent, as they were highly correlated (r = 0.97). However, using IQCODE-N cut-off scores the short form appeared to be more strict in defining 'decline'. A moderately high correlation was found between informant ratings and dementia screening tests CST (r = -0.47) and ADS (r = -0.46). Informant ratings were not influenced by patient's age or level of education. The short form IQCODE-N describes cognitive change in everyday activities of elderly patients and can be an efficient rating scale for clinical assessment of dementia.