The impact of behavioral symptoms on activities of daily living in patients with dementia

The authors examined whether scores on two recently developed measures of b ehavioral disturbance, the Frontal Lobe Personality Scale (FLOPS) and the N europsychiatric Inventory (NPI) are associated with functional impairments in patients with dementia. Caregivers of 30 dementia patients were administ ered the FLOPS Family Form, the NPI, and an Activities of Daily Living (ADL ) scale. Findings indicated a relationship between behavioral changes and f unctional limitations inpatients with dementia. Moreover the FLOPS, an inst rument designed to specifically measure behaviors subserved by frontal lobe systems, was more strongly related to failures in instrumental ALDs than w as the NPI. The authors conclude that behavioral measures add information o ver and above that available from cognitive tests in determining ADL functi oning.