title: Improving the assessment of everyday cognitive functioning in patients with epilepsy by means of proxy reports.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The self-report of cognitive deficits by of patients with epilepsy is often poorly correlated with objective test performances but highly related to mood and personality. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether information obtained by close relatives of the patient shows higher correlations with the patients' objective test scores and thereby can be a complementary measure for ensuring a reliable basis for diagnostic decision-making.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-four patients and 29 relatives were asked to fill in a questionnaire about everyday cognitive deficits of the patient. All patients completed a neuropsychological test battery comprising measures of memory, attention, and executive functioning and questionnaires on anxiety, depression, and the personality trait neuroticism.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Correlations between relatives' reports and patients' test performances were highly significant across all examined domains. By contrast, self-reports of the patients significantly correlated with none of the neuropsychological measures of memory and with only a subset of the objective measures of attention and executive functioning. Regression analyses additionally revealed a strong dependency of the patients' self-assessment on depression, anxiety, and neuroticism (R(2)=0.42).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results point out the risk of self-reports distorting reality and additionally recommend consulting a close relative of the patient to ensure reliable information about the patient's everyday cognitive functioning.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden, Technische Universität Dresden, Fetscherstr. 74, D-01307 Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Karkoska
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden, Technische Universität Dresden, Fetscherstr. 74, D-01307 Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hallmeyer-Elgner
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden, Technische Universität Dresden, Fetscherstr. 74, D-01307 Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Hendrik
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Berth
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden, Technische Universität Dresden, Fetscherstr. 74, D-01307 Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Heinz
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Reichmann
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden, Technische Universität Dresden, Fetscherstr. 74, D-01307 Dresden, Germany. Electronic address: Henning.Schmitz-Peiffer@uniklinikum-dresden.de.
authors.forename: Henning
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Schmitz-Peiffer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001007:Anxiety / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D001288:Attention; D003071:Cognition; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology*; D056344:Executive Function; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010551:Personality; D057566:Self Report; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cognition; Epilepsy; Objective performance; Proxy report; Relatives; Self-report