title: Screening for dementia using an informant interview.
abstract: The effectiveness of an informant interview as a screening and assessment instrument for dementia was evaluated in a community survey of 398 people aged 78 or over. Participants received a battery of neuropsychological tests and were diagnosed for dementia by Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th ed. (DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) criteria. Informants were independently interviewed about changes in everyday cognitive functioning over the previous five years. A factor analysis of the 31 items from the informant interview showed a large general factor. A long 31-item scale was constructed, as well as a short 12-item scale. The long scale had a sensitivity of 89% and a specificity of 89% for detecting dementia, while the short scale had a sensitivity of 83% and a specificity of 87%. Correlations with subtests of the neuropsychological battery ranged between .4 and .7. The informant scales were less affected by premorbid ability and education than was the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE).
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Waite
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Broe
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Casey
authors.forename: H P
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Bennett
authors.forename: A F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Jorm
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Creasey
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cullen
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Grayson