Responsiveness of the QUALID to Improved Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to determine whether the Quality of Life in Late-Stage Dementia (QUALID) scale is responsive to changes in behaviour due to therapeutic intervention. METHOD: 31 long-term care residents with moderate to severe AD and agitation/aggression entered a three-month, open-label trial of memantine 10 mg BID. The relationships between the QUALID and BPSD, global improvement, and cognition at baseline and endpoint, as well as the changes in these scales as a result of treatment, were examined. RESULTS: Despite a significant improvement in agitation and aggression (NPI agitation, F(3,90) = 3.721, p =.014; CMAI total, F(3,90) = 6.301, p =.001) and overall behaviour (NPI total, F(3,90) = 4.035, p =.010), there was no significant change in QUALID score (t(30) = −0.278, p =.783). The QUALID was correlated with NPI at baseline (τ = 0.270, p =.037) and endpoint (τ = 0.404, p =.002), but change scores were not correlated (τ = 0.107, p =.412). CONCLUSION: While the QUALID correlates with behavioural measures at single time points, it does not appear to correlate with changes longitudinally associated with treatment.