Psychometric Properties of the Clinical Dementia Rating - Sum of Boxes and other Cognitive and Functional Outcomes in a Prodromal Alzheimer's Disease Population

Background The Clinical Dementia Rating-Sum of Boxes (CDR-SB) has been proposed as a primary outcome for use in prodromal AD trials. However, the psychometric properties of this, and of other commonly used measures, have not been well-established in this patient population. Objective To describe the psychometric properties of commonly used efficacy measures in a clinical trial of prodromal AD. Setting Data were gathered as part of a two-year clinical trial. Participants Patients had biomarker confirmed prodromal AD. Measurements Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR), Functional Activities Questionnaire (FAQ), Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale - Cognition Subscale 11 and 13 (ADAS-Cog), Mini Mental State Exam (MMSE), and Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test (FCSRT-IR [words]). Assessments were conducted at least every 24 weeks. Results For the CDR-SB, test-retest reliability was good (intra-class correlation coefficient [ICC]=0.83); internal consistency was 0.65 at baseline but above 0.8 at later assessments. Relationships between the CDR-SB and other measures were as expected (higher correlations with more closely related constructs), and the CDR-SB differentiated between patients with different severities of dementia (-2.9 points difference between CDR-Global Score 0.5 and 1, P<.0001). Floor and ceiling effects on the CDR-SB total score were minimal; however, at baseline there were ceiling effects in the personal care domain. Further detail is provided on the psychometric properties of ADAS-Cog, MMSE, FCSRT-IR and FAQ in this population. Conclusion The psychometric properties of the CDR-SB are adequate in prodromal AD and continued use is warranted in clinical trials. However, there remains scope for improvement in the assessment of functional constructs and development of novel measures should continue.

Automated summary

This study investigated the psychometric properties of commonly used efficacy measures in a clinical trial of prodromal AD. The CDR-SB demonstrated good psychometric properties in prodromal AD, supporting its continued use in clinical trials. There is still room for improvement in assessing functional constructs, and the development of novel measures should continue.