Validity of the Dementia Rating Scale in assessing cognitive function in Parkinson's disease.
Two studies examined the validity of the Dementia Rating Scale (DRS) as a measure of cognitive functioning among patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). The DRS accounted for more variation in the level of cognitive functioning of PD patients than either the Mini-Mental Status Examination or a battery of tests selected to assess specific cognitive deficits associated with PD. Further, DRS subtests displayed strong convergent and discriminant validity with a comprehensive Criterion Neuropsychology Battery. The DRS subtests appear to be valid measures of attention, perseveration, conceptualization, and memory among PD patients. However, the DRS-Construction subtest should be supplemented with additional visuoconstructional items to provide a thorough screen of cognitive functioning in PD. Although about three-quarters of nondemented PD patients did not appear to have any specific cognitive deficits on the DRS, the remaining patients were impaired on the Construction or Initiation/Perseveration subtests of the DRS. In summary, the DRS is a valid mental status screening test of cognitive functioning for individuals with PD.
Brown
G G
GG
Henry Ford Health Sciences Center, Detroit, Michigan, USA.
Rahill
A A
AA
Gorell
J M
JM
McDonald
C
C
Brown
S J
SJ
Sillanpaa
M
M
Shults
C
C
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008609:Mental Status Schedule / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results