The impact of behavioral symptoms on activities of daily living in patients with dementia.
The authors examined whether scores on two recently developed measures of behavioral disturbance, the Frontal Lobe Personality Scale (FLOPS) and the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI), are associated with functional impairments in patients with dementia. Caregivers of 30 dementia patients were administered the FLOPS Family Form, the NPI, and an Activities of Daily Living (ADL) scale. Findings indicated a relationship between behavioral changes and functional limitations in patients with dementia. Moreover, the FLOPS, an instrument designed to specifically measure behaviors subserved by frontal lobe systems, was more strongly related to failures in instrumental ADLs than was the NPI. The authors conclude that behavioral measures add information over and above that available from cognitive tests in determining ADL functioning.
Norton
L E
LE
Butler Hospital, Brown University School of Medicine, Providence, RI, USA.
Malloy
P F
PF
Salloway
S
S
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003704:Dementia / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011581:Psychological Tests; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012237:Rhode Island; D012920:Social Behavior Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology