Validity of the Quality of Well-Being Scale for patients with Alzheimer's disease.
The Quality of Well-Being (QWB) Scale is a utility-weighted measure of health-related quality of life that can be used in clinical trials, population studies, and cost/utility analyses.  This article reports evidence for the validity of the QWB in patients with Alzheimer's disease.  The subjects were 211 patient-spouse dyads and control dyads recruited from the University of California, San Diego, Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (ADRC) and from community referrals.  Among these, three quarters were patients, and one quarter were age- and gender-matched controls.  Patient data were obtained by caregiver proxy.  Analyses demonstrated that the QWB was strongly associated with dementia ratings and behavioral problems.  Caretakers of patients with low QWB scores also reported using more respite time.  The authors conclude that the general QWB score allows data from Alzheimer's disease studies to be used in comparative cost/utility analysis.
Kerner
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DN
San Diego State University, USA.
Patterson
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TL
Grant
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I
Kaplan
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RM
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000453:epidemiology; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D019057:Quality-Adjusted Life Years; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D014481:United States