Staging dementia using proxy-reported activities of daily living.

Background/aim: It has been questioned whether cognitive and behavioral scales sufficiently address the impact of dementia on the everyday life of patients. Therefore, other instruments are used, such as scales of activities of daily living (ADL). Our goal was to analyze variables influencing the appraisal of ADL.

Method: Prospective cohort study on 202 patients with dementia and their proxies.

Results: Two clusters of patients were identified. These clusters differed significantly in their constituting variables and all variables that informants reported regarding the patients. However, severity of dementia and other variables were similar in the two clusters.

Conclusion: We conclude that ratings of basic and instrumental ADL by proxy are modulated by the informants' variables, particularly if these informants are female. Use of ADL scales to assess the impact of dementia or treatment thereof needs to be handled cautiously.