THE BLESSED DEMENTIA SCALE AS A SCREENING TEST FOR DEMENTIA.

The Blessed Dementia Scale (DS) is a brief behavioural scale based on the interview of a close informant. Its validity as a screening test was evaluated in 105 demented patients and 123 community residents. The DS proved to be a sensitive and specific screening test for dementia, especially when items related to personality changes were omitted by constructing a revised DS (RDS). Both the DS and RDS correlated with the patients neuropsychological test performance. They also differentiated patients with different degrees of dementia. In the screening of dementia the cut-off point of 4 in the DS gave a sensitivity of 90% and a specificity of 84%. In the RDS the cut-off point of 1.5 gave a sensitivity of 93% and a specificity of 97%. Behavioural rating scales such as the DS are valuable in the screening of dementia, especially when combined with cognitive testing. In addition they can be used in the evaluation of the degree of disability and in the planning of social support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]