Functional disability in early Alzheimer's disease - a validation study of the Italian version of the disability assessment for dementia scale.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the applicability and psychometric properties of the Italian version of the Disability Assessment of Dementia scale (DAD-I) in a community-residing population with early-stage Alzheimer's disease (AD).


METHODS
The DAD-I was administered to the primary caregivers of 159 patients (mean age +/- SD 77.1 +/- 5.2) with mild AD (mean Mini Mental State Examination, MMSE, +/- SD 23.1 +/- 2.2).


RESULTS
The DAD-I showed excellent internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.92) and good construct validity. The DAD-I score was not significantly associated with gender, education and presumed duration of the illness, and had a low negative correlation with age. The DAD-I score correlated moderately with the traditional Instrumental Activities of Daily Living and Activities of Daily Living scales, respectively, with r = 0.53 and r = 0.54 (p < 0.0001). Relatively low, but statistically significant correlations (r ranging between 0.21 and 0.31) with the MMSE were also found.


CONCLUSIONS
The DAD-I was found to be a reliable and valid instrument to assess functional disability in community-dwelling Italian subjects with early-stage AD.
De Vreese
Luc Pieter
LP
Special Dementia Care Unit, Nursing Home Facility IX Gennaio, Modena, Italy.
Caffarra
Paolo
P
Savarè
Rita
R
Cerutti
Renata
R
Franceschi
Massimo
M
Grossi
Enzo
E
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires