• A U Monsch, M W Bondi, D P Salmon, N Butters, L J Thal, L A Hansen, W C Wiederholt, D A Cahn, and M R Klauber.
• Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, USA.
• Arch Neurol Chicago. 1995 Sep 1; 52 (9): 899-904.

ObjectiveTo assess the clinical validity of the Dementia Rating Scale (DRS) in detecting patients with dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT).BackgroundThe DRS is widely used to evaluate cognitive functioning in older adults. Adequate normative data are unavailable; studies addressing the clinical validity of the DRS are limited by small sample sizes.Design And MethodsAdministered the DRS to 254 outpatients with DAT and 105 healthy elderly subjects. Performed (1) multiple regressions of demographic factors on the DRS and its subscales; (2) derivation of optimal DRS cutoff scores using receiver operating characteristic curves; (3) double cross-validation with stepwise logistic regressions; and (4) application of results to a community-dwelling sample.ResultsAge- and education-adjusted DRS scores were computed. The optimal DRS cutoff score for DAT of 129 or less revealed a sensitivity of 98% and a specificity of 97%. The logistic regressions resulted in a combination of the Memory and Initiation/Perseveration subscales that correctly classified 98% of all subjects, 92% of a subsample of 76 patients with mild DAT, and 100% of the 51 patients with autopsy-confirmed DAT. The resultant equation was then applied to a community-dwelling sample (238 healthy elderly subjects and 44 patients with DAT): 91% of patients and 93% of normal subjects were correctly classified. Of an additional 77 individuals with questionable DAT, 43 were classified as demented and 34 were classified as nondemented.ConclusionsThe DRS is a clinically valid psychometric test for the detection of DAT. The Memory and Initiation/Perseveration subscales are its best discriminative indexes for an abbreviated version.

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