Standardization and diagnostic utility of the Frontal Assessment Battery for healthy people and patients with dementia in the Chilean population

Grandi, Fabrissio; Martínez-Pernía, David; Parra, Mario; Olavarria, Loreto; Huepe, David; Alegria, Patricia; Aliaga, Álvaro; Lillo, Patricia; Delgado, Carolina; Tenorio, Marcela; Rosas, Ricardo; López, Oscar; Becker, James; Slachevsky, Andrea

doi:10.1590/1980-5764-DN-2021-0059

Acessibilidade / Reportar erro

Brasil

Dementia & Neuropsychologia

Español English

Brasil

Español English

sumário « anterior atual seguinte »

Sumário

Original Article • Dement. neuropsychol. 16 (1) • Mar 2022 • https://doi.org/10.1590/1980-5764-DN-2021-0059 copy

Standardization and diagnostic utility of the Frontal Assessment Battery for healthy people and patients with dementia in the Chilean population

PADRONIZAÇÃO E UTILIDADE DIAGNÓSTICA DO FRONTAL BATERIA DE AVALIAÇÃO PARA PESSOAS SAUDÁVEIS E PACIENTES COM DEMÊNCIA NA POPULAÇÃO CHILENA

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

ABSTRACT.

The Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB) is a screening test that measures executive functions. Although this instrument has been validated in several countries, its diagnostic utility in a Chilean population has not been studied yet.

Objectives:

This study aimed to (1) adapt FAB in a Chilean population; (2) study the psychometric properties of the FAB in a Chilean population; (3) assess the sociodemographic influence in the performance of the FAB in a sample of healthy controls (HC); and (4) develop normative data for this healthy group.

Methods:

A HC (n=344) and a group of patients with dementia (n=156) were assessed with the Chilean version of FAB.

Results:

FAB showed good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha=0.79) and acceptable validity based on the relationship with other variables. Factor analysis showed the unidimensionality of the instrument. Significant differences were found in the total FAB value between the HC and dementia groups. With the matched sample, the established cutoff point was 13.5, showing a sensitivity of 80.8% and a specificity of 90.4%. Regression analysis showed that education and age significantly predicted FAB performance in the healthy group. Finally, normative data are provided.

Conclusions:

This study shows that FAB is a useful tool to discriminate between healthy people and people with dementia. However, further studies are needed to explore the capacity of the instrument to characterize the dysexecutive syndrome in people with dementia in the Chilean population.

Keywords:
Executive Function; Dementia; Mental Status and Dementia Tests; Neurodegenerative Diseases

	Control (n=344)	Dementia (n=156)	p-value
Age^a a Results are expressed in mean±standard deviation;	55.35±18.096	74.2±7.626	<0.001
Years of education^a a Results are expressed in mean±standard deviation;	12.62±4.565	11.42±4.7	<0.01
MMSE^a a Results are expressed in mean±standard deviation;	28.53±1.578	19.68±5.631	<0.001
FAB total^a a Results are expressed in mean±standard deviation;	16.07±1.751	10.06±3.865	<0.01
FAB subtest 1^a a Results are expressed in mean±standard deviation;	2.32±0.685	1.5±1.002	<0.01
FAB subtest 2^a a Results are expressed in mean±standard deviation;	2.73±0.530	1.56±1.013	<0.01
FAB subtest 3^a a Results are expressed in mean±standard deviation;	2.53±0.755	1.42±0.993	<0.01
FAB subtest 4^a a Results are expressed in mean±standard deviation;	2.86±0.402	1.82±1.187	<0.01
FAB subtest 5^a a Results are expressed in mean±standard deviation;	2.63±0.729	1.26±1.133	<0.01
FAB subtest 6^a a Results are expressed in mean±standard deviation;	2.98±0.178	2.48±0.963	<0.01

	Control (n=122)	Dementia (n=118)	p-value
Age^a a Results are expressed in mean±standard deviation;	72.25±6.891	70.84±6.73	0.11
Years of education^a a Results are expressed in mean±standard deviation;	11.63±4.857	12.61±4.861	0.117
MMSE^a a Results are expressed in mean±standard deviation;	28.29±1.639	20.06±5.307	<0.001
FAB total^a a Results are expressed in mean±standard deviation;	15.77±1.875	10.35±3.925	<0.001
FAB subtest 1^a a Results are expressed in mean±standard deviation;	2.36±0.739	1.57±0.977	<0.001
FAB subtest 2^a a Results are expressed in mean±standard deviation;	2.66±0.625	1.55±1.038	<0.001
FAB subtest 3^a a Results are expressed in mean±standard deviation;	2.43±0.862	1.5±0.988	<0.001
FAB subtest 4^a a Results are expressed in mean±standard deviation;	2.86±0.44	1.88±1.176	<0.001
FAB subtest 5^a a Results are expressed in mean±standard deviation;	2.42±0.87	1.28±1.136	<0.001
FAB subtest 6^a a Results are expressed in mean±standard deviation;	2.99±0.091	2.54±0.905	<0.001

Cutoff point	Sensitivity	Specificity
-1.00	0.000	1.000
1.00	0.006	1.000
2.50	0.026	1.000
3.50	0.038	1.000
4.50	0.064	1.000
5.50	0.141	1.000
6.50	0.212	1.000
7.50	0.282	1.000
8.50	0.359	1.000
9.50	0.429	1.000
10.50	0.532	0.991
11.50	0.596	0.985
12.50	0.718	0.959
13.50	0.808	0.904
14.50	0.853	0.805
15.50	0.910	0.689
16.50	0.968	0.520
17.50	0.987	0.218
19.00	1.000	0.000

Cutoff point	Sensitivity	Specificity
-1.00	0.000	1.000
1.00	0.008	1.000
2.50	0.025	1.000
3.50	0.042	1.000
4.50	0.051	1.000
5.50	0.110	1.000
6.50	0.195	1.000
7.50	0.263	1.000
8.50	0.339	1.000
9.50	0.407	1.000
10.50	0.517	0.992
11.50	0.568	0.975
12.50	0.686	0.926
13.50	0.780	0.852
14.50	0.822	0.762
15.50	0.890	0.664
16.50	0.958	0.434
17.50	0.983	0.164
19.00	1.000	0.000

Age	n	Education	Mean	SD	Median	Maximum	Minimum
20–49	30	0–8	15.00	1.23	15.00	17.00	13.00
	29	9–12	15.86	1.83	16.00	18.00	10.00
	66	13 or +	17.11	1.14	17.00	18.00	13.00
50–69	30	0–8	14.17	1.76	14.00	17.00	10.00
	25	9–12	16.04	1.67	16.00	18.00	12.00
	63	13 or +	16.79	1.25	17.00	18.00	13.00
70–89	26	0–8	14.00	1.72	14.00	17.00	10.00
	22	9–12	16.14	1.32	16.00	18.00	13.00
	53	13 or +	16.74	1.26	17.00	18.00	12.00

Academia Brasileira de Neurologia, Departamento de Neurologia Cognitiva e Envelhecimento R. Vergueiro, 1353 sl.1404 - Ed. Top Towers Offices, Torre Norte, São Paulo, SP, Brazil, CEP 04101-000, Tel.: +55 11 5084-9463 | +55 11 5083-3876 - São Paulo - SP - Brazil
E-mail: revistadementia@abneuro.org.br | demneuropsy@uol.com.br

Acompanhe os números deste periódico no seu leitor de RSS

[1] Correspondence: Andrea Slachevsky; Email: andrea.slachevsky@uchile.cl