title: [Validity and reliability of the Japanese version of the Neuropsychiatric Inventory Caregiver Distress Scale (NPI D) and the Neuropsychiatric Inventory Brief Questionnaire Form (NPI-Q)].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Neuropsychiatric disturbances are common and burdensome symptoms of dementia. Assessment and measurement of neuropsychiatric disturbances are indispensable to the management of patients with dementia. Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) is a comprehensive assessment tool that evaluates psychiatric symptoms in dementia. We translated the NPI-Caregiver Distress Scale part of NPI (NPI-D) and NPI-Brief Questionnaire Form (NPI-Q) into Japanese and examined their validity and reliability.
  
  
  METHODS
  The subjects were 152 demented patients and the caregivers who lived with them. These patients consisted of 76 women and 76 men; their mean age was 73.9 +/- 7.8 (S.D.; range: 49 to 93) years. Their caregivers consisted of 46 men and 106 women; their mean age was 65.0 +/- 11.4 (S.D.; range: 35 to 90) years. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) was conducted with all patients and NPI-Q, NPI, NPI-D, and the Zarit caregiver burden interview (ZBI) were conducted with all caregivers. We examined validity of NPI-D by comparing its score with the MMSE and ZBI scores, and the validity of NPI-Q by comparing its score with the NPI and NPI-D scores. In order to evaluate test-retest reliability, NPI-D was re-adopted to 30 randomly selected caregivers by a different examiner one month later and NPI-Q was re-executed by 27 randomly selected caregivers one day later.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Total NPI-D score was significantly correlated with ZBI (rs = 0.59, p < 0.01). Test-retest reliability of NPI-D was adequate (ri = 0.47, p < 0.01). Total NPI-Q severity score and distress score were strongly correlated with NPI (r = 0.77, p < 0.01) and NPI-D (r = 0.80, p < 0.01) scores, respectively. Test-retest reliability of the scores of NPI-Q was acceptably high (the severity score; ri = 0.81, p < 0.01, the distress score; ri = 0.80, p < 0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Japanese version of NPI-D and NPI-Q demonstrated sufficient validity and reliability as well as the original version of them. These are useful tools for evaluating psychiatric symptoms in demented patients and their caregivers' distress attributable to these symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, Neuroscience, Ehime University Graduate School of Medicine, Shitsukawa, Toon-shi, Ehime 791-0295, Japan.
authors.forename: Naomi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
authors.forename: Manabu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ikeda
authors.forename: Ryuji
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fukuhara
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hyodo
authors.forename: Tomohisa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
authors.forename: Takaaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mori
authors.forename: Yasutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Toyota
authors.forename: Teruhisa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
authors.forename: Hiroyoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Adachi
authors.forename: Shunichiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shinagawa
authors.forename: Kazuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hokoishi
authors.forename: Hirotaka
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tanabe
authors.forename: Nobutsugu
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hirono
mesh_terms: D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000592:standards*; D014175:Translating