Psychometric characteristics of the Rivermead Behavioural Memory Test (RBMT) as an early detection instrument for dementia and mild cognitive impairment in Brazil.
BACKGROUND
The Rivermead Behavioural Memory Test (RBMT) assesses everyday memory by means of tasks which mimic daily challenges. The objective was to examine the validity of the Brazilian version of the RBMT to detect cognitive decline.


METHODS
195 older adults were diagnosed as normal controls (NC) or with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or Alzheimer's disease (AD) by a multidisciplinary team, after participants completed clinical and neuropsychological protocols.


RESULTS
Cronbach's alpha was high for the total sample for the RBMT profile (PS) and screening scores (SS) (PS = 0.91, SS = 0.87) and for the AD group (PS = 0.84, SS = 0.85), and moderate for the MCI (PS = 0.62, SS = 0.55) and NC (PS = 0.62, SS = 0.60) groups. RBMT total scores, Appointment, Pictures, Immediate and Delayed Story, Immediate and Delayed Route, Delayed Message and Date contributed to differentiate NC from MCI. ROC curve analyses indicated high accuracy to differentiate NC from AD patients, and, moderate accuracy to differentiate NC from MCI.


CONCLUSIONS
The Brazilian version of the RBMT seems to be an appropriate instrument to identify memory decline in Brazilian older adults.
Yassuda
Mônica Sanches
MS
Gerontology Department, School of Arts, Sciences and Humanities, EACH, University of São Paulo. yassuda@usp.br [corrected]
Flaks
Mariana Kneese
MK
Viola
Luciane Fátima
LF
Pereira
Fernanda Speggiorin
FS
Memória
Claudia Maia
CM
Nunes
Paula Villela
PV
Forlenza
Orestes Vicente
OV
D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology*; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis*; D001938:Brazil; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010348:Patient Care Team; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012016:Reference Values; D015203:Reproducibility of Results