The Clinical Validity of the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale in Staging Alzheimer's Dementia

Abstract

Considerable heterogeneity exists in the criteria used for the establishment of stages of impairment for patients with dementia. The valid distinction of stages is important both for clinical interpretation and the study of dementia. This study reports on the use of the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale (DRS) in staging dementia. Using a sample of 42 patients diagnosed with Alzheimer-type dementia, DRS performance and a rating of Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) were compared with clinical ratings of dementia severity. Total DRS score provides a clinically valid measure of stage of impairment and appeared to provide a better distinction among stages than IADL score. However, use of the IADL score in conjunction with total DRS may improve correspondence with clinical staging over use of the total DRS score alone. Normative data for the DRS are also provided.

Clinical Determinants of Suicidal Ideation and Behavior in Geriatric Depression

“…22 The Mattis Dementia Rating Scale permits sensitive discrimination of mild dementia from no dementia. 23 Medical burden, disability, and poor social support may promote suicidal ideation or behavior. For this reason, the impact of these factors was studied.…”

Distinct cognitive profiles and rates of decline on the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale in autopsy-confirmed frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer's disease

“…The MDRS is a widely used standardized mental status examination that provides a global measure of dementia derived from subscales for five cognitive capacities: attention, initiation and perseveration, construction, conceptualization, and memory. It is a reliable (Coblentz et al, 1973;Gardner et al, 1981;Smith et al, 1994;Vitaliano et al, 1984) and valid psychometric instrument for detecting and staging dementia (Gardner et al, 1981;Green et al, 1995;Monsch et al, 1995;Salmon et al, 1990;Shay et al, 1991;Smith et al, 1994;Troster et al, 1994;Woodard et al, 1996). Several studies have shown that the pattern of MDRS subscale scores can distinguish between AD and a variety of other dementing illnesses such as dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB; Aarsland et al, 2003;Connor et al, 1998), Parkinson's disease (Paolo et al, 1995), Huntington's disease (Paulsen et al, 1995;Rosser & Hodges, 1994;Salmon et al, 1989), and progressive supranuclear palsy (Rosser & Hodges, 1994).…”

Recognition of Activities of Daily Living in natural “at home” scenario for assessment of Alzheimer's disease patients

“…The boundaries between these stages are not clearly defined and will vary between individuals. Research suggests however, that looking at performance of activities of daily living in conjunction with existing psychometric dementia-staging measures may improve clinical staging [13]. Intelligent assistive technologies are being developed to monitor and enable certain activities of daily living in people with dementia.…”