Faculty Articles
Title
The behavioral pathology in Alzheimer's Disease Scale (BEHAVE-AD): factor structure among community-dwelling Alzheimer's disease patients.
ISBN or ISSN
0885-6230
Publication Title
International journal of geriatric psychiatry
Volume
13
Issue
11
Publication Date / Copyright Date
11-1-1998
First Page
793
Last Page
800
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study were to (a) determine the factor structure of the Behavioral Pathology in Alzheimer's Disease Scale (BEHAVE-AD), and (b) examine the associations of the observed factors to the level of cognitive impairment.
DESIGN: Cross-sectional study of geriatric patients evaluated at an outpatient memory disorders clinic.
SAMPLE: One hundred and fifty-one consecutive patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease (AD) according to NINCDS-ADRDA diagnostic criteria.
RESULTS: Principal factors analysis with Varimax rotation resulted in a five-factor solution that accounted for 40.0% of the common variance. The factors included agitation/anxiety (agitation, anxiety of upcoming events; other anxiety), psychosis (delusions of theft, suspiciousness/paranoia; visual hallucinations), aggression (verbal aggressiveness; physical threats/violence; fear of being left alone; other delusions), depression (tearfulness; depressed mood) and activity disturbance (wandering; delusion one's house is not one's home). Several factors were associated with level of cognitive impairment as assessed by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE).
CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that the BEHAVE-AD measures a wide range of behavioral pathology that can be empirically represented by five independent symptom clusters among outpatient AD patients.
Disciplines
Medical Specialties | Medicine and Health Sciences | Osteopathic Medicine and Osteopathy
Keywords
Activities of Daily Living, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Alzheimer Disease, Ambulatory Care, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Geriatric Assessment, Humans, Male, Mental Status Schedule, Neuropsychological Tests, Psychometrics, Reproducibility of Results, Social Behavior Disorders
NSUWorks Citation
Harwood, Dylan G.; Ownby, Raymond L.; Barker, Warren W.; and Duara, Ranjan, "The behavioral pathology in Alzheimer's Disease Scale (BEHAVE-AD): factor structure among community-dwelling Alzheimer's disease patients." (1998). Faculty Articles. 98.
https://nsuworks.nova.edu/hpd_com_faculty_articles/98
