Assessment of functional impairment in dementia with the spanish version of the activities of daily living questionnaire

Background/Aims: Functional assessment is essential in dementia as it provides an invaluable tool for diagnosis and treatment. To date, most scales of activities of daily living (ADL) have focused either on basic or instrumental activities, providing an incomplete profile of the patients' level of dependence on their caregivers. Some scales concentrate too intensely on the way in which physical impairment affects ADL, with a decreasing sensitivity to the detection of demented patients who do not necessarily present with physical impediments. The Activities of Daily Living Questionnaire (ADLQ) assesses functioning in self-care, household care, employment and recreation, shopping and money, travel and communication. The present study sought to determine the usefulness of the Spanish version of the ADLQ (ADLQ-SV) for assessing functional impairment in different types of dementia. Methods: The ADLQ-SV, the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) scale and the Functional Activities Questionnaire (FAQ) were administered to the caregivers of patients (n = 40) with different types of dementia. Results: Strong internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.88) and concurrent validity (significant correlations with CDR and FAQ, both p < 0.001) were observed. Conclusions: The authors discuss response trends in the ADLQ-SV and show the utility of the scale in Spanish-speaking populations of patients with dementia.