Giovannetti and co-authors (Giovannetti et al., 2006) highlight the importance of measuring activities
of daily living (ADL) and Instrumental activities of daily living (IADL)
for the diagnosis of dementia. The method used, Naturalistic Action Test
(NAT), is performance based. Study rationale was that “the relevance
of diagnosis to everyday functioning has gone largely unexplored.”
However, this statement seems to be invalid: cognitive impairment
interfering with daily/social functioning is one of the DSM-IV
dementia criteria. Secondly, many different ADL/IADL scales exist and
are used in dementia research, including those that are performance based
(Burns et al., 2004). Authors should have
reviewed these scales more thoroughly and present a rationale for
introducing a new one. NAT items model household chores and preparing a
simple meal only. These activities are quite different from and perhaps
easier to perform than using the telephone, handling finances, and similar
instrumental activities. Simple activities or ADL may not be useful in
differentiating dementia from normality, especially in the early stages of
dementia.
P2-091: Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) Scale in the diagnosis of dementia