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The behavioral pathology in Alzheimer's disease scale (BEHAVE‐AD): factor structure among community‐dwelling Alzheimer's disease patients
Author(s) -
Harwood Dylan G.,
Ownby Raymond L.,
Barker Warren W.,
Duara Ranjan
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
international journal of geriatric psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.28
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1099-1166
pISSN - 0885-6230
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-1166(1998110)13:11<793::aid-gps875>3.0.co;2-q
Subject(s) - disease , alzheimer's disease , degenerative disease , medicine , central nervous system disease , gerontology , psychology , pathology , neuroscience
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. Copyright © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.