The conceptual relevance of assessment measures in patients with mild/mild-moderate Alzheimer's disease

Ann Hartry; Natalie V J Aldhouse; Tamara Al-Zubeidi; Myrlene Sanon; Richard G Stefanacci; Sarah L Knight

doi:10.1016/j.dadm.2018.07.006

The conceptual relevance of assessment measures in patients with mild/mild-moderate Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimers Dement (Amst). 2018 Aug 10:10:498-508. doi: 10.1016/j.dadm.2018.07.006. eCollection 2018.

Authors

Ann Hartry¹, Natalie V J Aldhouse², Tamara Al-Zubeidi³, Myrlene Sanon⁴, Richard G Stefanacci⁵, Sarah L Knight³

Affiliations

¹ Lundbeck, Deerfield, IL, USA.
² DRG Abacus, Manchester, UK.
³ DRG Abacus, Bicester, Oxfordshire, UK.
⁴ Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc. Princeton, NJ, USA.
⁵ Jefferson College of Population Health, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.

Abstract

Introduction: This study aims to evaluate the conceptual relevance of four measures of disease activity in patients with mild/mild-moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD): (1) the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale; (2) the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study-Activities of Daily Living Inventory; (3) the Neuropsychiatry Inventory; and (4) the Dependence Scale.

Methods: A conceptual model depicting patient experience of mild AD was developed via literature review; concepts were compared with the items of the four measures. Relevance of the concepts included in the four measures was evaluated by patients with mild AD in a survey and follow-up interviews.

Results: The four measures assessed few of the symptoms/impacts of mild AD identified within the literature. Measured items addressing emotional impacts were deemed most relevant by participants but were included in the measures only superficially.

Discussion: The four assessment measures do not appear to capture the concepts most relevant to/important to patients with mild/mild-moderate AD.

Keywords: Conceptual relevance; Mild/mild-moderate Alzheimer's disease; Outcome measures; Patient-reported outcome (PRO); Qualitative interviews; Quantitative survey.