Objective: So far goal-oriented therapy in dementia cannot be measured sufficiently. There are no tests that detect a profile of capacities that could describe the targets of training. Thus, it was aimed to develop a test that uncovers a profile of capacities in patients suffering from dementia.
Methods: Three groups of subjects (n = 156), 30 patients suffering from dementia of the Alzheimer type, 28 from depressive disorder and 98 healthy age-comparable controls were included in the study. Building on already existing tests, items were developed to cover intelligence, visuo-spatial abilities, cognitive and social problem solving, emotional and executive abilities. All subjects were investigated with the Training Target Test Dementia (3TD). To calculate convergence validity, the Test for the Early Detection of Dementia from depression (TE4D) and the Beck Depression Inventory were assessed. Descriptively, profiles were calculated. Group differences were studied with the Kruskal-Wallis and the Mann-Whitney-U-test.
Results: Characteristic neuropsychological capacity profiles were found within the three groups. Differences between the groups were significant for all subtests. Significantly, the 3TD separated patients with dementia from controls. It reached high sensitivity and acceptable specificity. The convergence validity to the TE4D was significant (r = 0.77).
Conclusions: The capacity profiles detected may allow for specified therapeutic modules to be scheduled. Moreover, the 3TD will be suitable to discriminate between patients suffering from dementia, depression as well as healthy age-comparable controls. For therapeutic improvement, further investigation will be needed to prove its sensitivity.
(c) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.