Dementia & Neuropsychologia ()

Brazilian caregiver version of the Apathy Scale

  • Henrique Cerqueira Guimarães,
  • Patricia Paes Araujo Fialho,
  • Viviane Amaral Carvalho,
  • Etelvina Lucas dos Santos,
  • Paulo Caramelli

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1590/S1980-57642009DN30400010
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 3, no. 4
pp. 321 – 326

Abstract

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Abstract No Brazilian version of a specific scale for evaluating apathy in dementia is available. Objectives: To introduce a translated version of the Apathy Scale (AS) for use with caregivers. Methods: The instrument was formally translated and then administered to the caregivers of a small sample of dementia patients, in order to assess scale comprehensibility and make final adjustments. The scale was subsequently administered to the caregivers of a second, independent sample of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. The content validity of the scale was tested by correlating the AS scores with the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) - apathy sub-score and Disability Assessment in Dementia (DAD) total scores. Results: The first sample consisted of eleven subjects with dementia, most of whom had AD. The second sample comprised twenty patients with probable or possible AD (10 with mild dementia), a mean age of 84.1±5.8 years, and 2.2±1.6 years of schooling. The AS scores correlated with both NPI-apathy sub-score (r=0.756, p=0.001) and DAD total scores (r=-0.793, p=0.0005). Conclusions: The final version had good comprehensibility and correlated strongly with standardized apathy and functional activities of daily living measures.

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