Background: The Quick Dementia Rating System (QDRS) is a brief, informant-reported dementia staging tool that approximates scores on the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Objective: The current study sought to examine change in the QDRS across time, which is necessary for clinical and research efforts. Methods: One-hundred ten older adults (intact, mild cognitive impairment [MCI], mild AD, classified with Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative criteria) were rated on the QDRS by an informant and had an amyloid positron emission tomography scan at baseline. The informant re-rated each participant on the QDRS after one year. Dependent t-tests compared the entire sample and various subgroups (e.g., cognitive status, amyloid status) on baseline and follow-up QDRS scores. Results: In the entire sample, the Total score on the QDRS significantly increased (i.e., worsened) on follow-up (p < 0.001). When subgroups were analyzed, the MCI and mild AD subjects showed increasing (i.e., worsening) QDRS Total scores (both p < 0.001), but the intact subjects remained stable over time (p = 0.28). Additionally, those classified as being amyloid positive at baseline showed significantly increased QDRS Total scores at follow-up (p < 0.001) compared to those who were amyloid negative at baseline, whose QDRS Total scores remained stable over time (p = 0.63). Conclusion: The QDRS can potentially demonstrate worsening functioning status across one year, especially in those who have MCI or mild AD and those who are amyloid positive. Therefore, the current results preliminarily suggest that the QDRS may provide an efficient tool for tracking progression in clinical trials in AD.
Practice effects have become a potentially important variable regarding the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment recommendations in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, the understanding of these short-term changes in test scores remains unclear. The current observational study sought to examine variables that influence the magnitude of short-term practice effects in MCI and AD, including demographic information, cognitive performance, daily functioning, and medical comorbidities. One hundred sixty-six older adults classified as cognitively intact, amnestic MCI, or mild AD were tested twice across 1 week with a brief battery of neuropsychological tests. Correlational and regression analyses examined the relationship of practice effects with demographic and clinical variables. Results indicated that practice effects were minimally related to demographic variables and medical comorbidities, but they were significantly related to cognitive variables, depressive symptoms, and daily functioning. These findings expand our understanding of practice effects in MCI and AD, and they may allow a better appreciation of how they could affect clinical care and research.
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