Quality of Life in Dementia: Impact of Cognition and Insight on Applicability of the SF-36

• Published in: The American journal of geriatric psychiatry 2013-07, Vol.21 (7), p.646-654
• Main Authors: Geschke, Katharina, M.D, Fellgiebel, Andreas, M.D., Ph.D, Laux, Nina, M.Sc, Schermuly, Ingrid, Ph.D, Scheurich, Armin, Ph.D
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Alzheimer Disease - diagnosis; Alzheimer Disease - psychology; Dementia - diagnosis; Dementia - psychology; Female; Humans; Internal Medicine; Male; Middle Aged; Psychometrics - instrumentation; Quality of Life - psychology; Reproducibility of Results
• ISSN: 1064-7481; 1545-7214
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jagp.2012.12.014

Objectives Comparability of measures of quality of life in dementia and in other diagnostic groups, such as mild cognitive impairment, normal aging, or other diseases, is highly desirable. However, the impact of cognitive deficits and impaired insight on applicability and validity of generic instruments is sparsely studied. Participants and Measurements Sixty patients with dementia [38 women; age: mean (SD) = 78.7 (6.4) years; Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE): mean (SD) = 20.2 (6.0)] recruited as part of the start-modem study, a multicenter care research study in Germany, completed the generic instrument SF-36 and the specific instrument Quality of Life-Alzheimer's Disease (QOL-AD). Results QOL-AD self-rating scores [mean (SD) = 32.8 (5.9)] and SF-36 subscales indicated moderate to good quality of life in the total group. Reliability and validity of five subdomains of the SF-36 were poor in subgroups of patients with impaired insight or with MMSE scores less than 17 (Cronbach's α