Clinical Value of Neuropsychiatric Scales in the Preliminary Identification of Frontotemporal Dementia from Alzheimer's Disease.
Abstract
Objective
To provide a reference for the clinical differentiation of behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) by analysing differences in scores across various neuropsychiatric scales and their relationships with activities of daily living and caregiver burden. STUDY
Design
A cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of the Study: Department of Neurology, the Affiliated Hospital of Putian University, Putian, China, from January 2024 to March 2025. METHODOLOGY Data from the Mild Behavioural Impairment Checklist (MBI-C), Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI), Frontal Behavioural Inventory (FBI), Activities of Daily Living (ADL) scale, and Zarit Caregiver Burden Interview (ZBI) were collected from patients with bvFTD and AD. t-test or chi-square test was used to analyse differences in the scores between the two groups. Pearson's correlation analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between ADL and ZBI scores and MBI-C, NPI, and FBI scores. ROC curve analysis was used to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of the MBI-C, NPI, and FBI scales. The AUC values were calculated and compared.
Results
The bvFTD group exhibited significantly higher MBI-C, NPI, and FBI scores than the AD group (p <0.05). Emotional problems, lack of motivation, disinhibition, speech disorders, impaired judgment, lack of self-awareness, inattention, stubbornness, and incontinence were all more pronounced in the bvFTD group. ADL and ZBI scores were positively correlated with MBI-C, NPI, and FBI scores in both groups. The FBI scale had an AUC value of 0.85, with sensitivity and specificity of 81.82% and 74.71%, respectively, when the score exceeded 20.5.
Conclusion
The MBI-C, NPI, and FBI scales can quickly and effectively distinguish bvFTD from AD, with the FBI scale having the highest diagnostic value. Neuropsychiatric disturbances in patients with bvFTD and AD reduce their daily living abilities and increase their caregiver burden. KEY WORDS Behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia, Alzheimer's disease, Mild behavioural impairment checklist, Neuropsychiatric inventory, Frontal behavioural inventory.