Home › Research › Getting a diagnosis
The AD8: a brief informant interview to detect dementia
Galvin JE, Roe CM, Powlishta KK, Coats MA, Muich SJ, Grant E, Miller JP, Storandt M et al.. Neurology, 2005-08-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Background Brief measures that accurately discriminate normal cognitive aging from very mild dementia are lacking. Cognitive tests often are insensitive to very mild dementia. Informant-based measures may be more sensitive in detecting early dementia. Objective To identify informant-reported clinical variables that differentiate cognitively normal individuals from those with very mild dementia. Methods A 55-item battery of informant queries regarding an individual's cognitive status was derived from a semistructured interview and a consensus panel of dementia experts. The battery was evaluated with informants for 189 consecutive participants of a longitudinal study of memory and aging and compared with an independently obtained Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) score for the participant. Multiple regression and receiver operator characteristic curves assessed subsets of the items to discriminate between CDR 0 (no dementia) and CDR 0.5 (very mild dementia). Results The final version (AD8) querying memory, orientation, judgment, and function was administered to an additional sample of 112 CDR 0 and 68 CDR 0.5 participants. Using a cut-off of two items endorsed, the area under the curve was 0.834, suggesting good to excellent discrimination, sensitivity was 74%, and specificity was 86% (prevalence of 0.38 for very mild dementia). Inclusion of 56 additional individuals with mild to severe dementia (increasing dementia prevalence to 0.53) increased sensitivity to 85%. Conclusions The AD8 is a brief, sensitive measure that reliably differentiates between nondemented and demented individuals. Use of the AD8 in conjunction with a brief assessment of the participant could improve diagnostic accuracy in general practice.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Galvin, J. E., Roe, C. M., Powlishta, K. K., Coats, M. A., Muich, S. J., Grant, E., et al. (2005). The AD8: a brief informant interview to detect dementia. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1212/01.wnl.0000172958.95282.2a
Vancouver
Galvin JE, Roe CM, Powlishta KK, Coats MA, Muich SJ, Grant E, et al. The AD8: a brief informant interview to detect dementia. Neurology. 2005. doi:10.1212/01.wnl.0000172958.95282.2a. PMID: 16116116.
BibTeX
@article{galvin2005-16116116,
author = {Galvin, J. E. and Roe, C. M. and Powlishta, K. K. and Coats, M. A. and Muich, S. J. and Grant, E. and Miller, J. P. and Storandt, M. and others},
title = {{The AD8: a brief informant interview to detect dementia}},
journal = {Neurology},
year = {2005},
doi = {10.1212/01.wnl.0000172958.95282.2a},
pmid = {16116116},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1212/01.wnl.0000172958.95282.2a}
}
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
Key findings
- The battery was evaluated with informants for 189 consecutive participants of a longitudinal study of memory and aging and compared with an independently obtained Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) score for the participant.
- Results The final version (AD8) querying memory, orientation, judgment, and function was administered to an additional sample of 112 CDR 0 and 68 CDR 0.5 participants.
Why it matters
This study developed a brief informant interview, the AD8, to detect very mild dementia. It is a screening tool and does not provide information on treating, curing, or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Getting a diagnosis →
Study details
- Study designlongitudinal study
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 64/100
Published in a leading specialty journal, and it is a longitudinal study following the same people over time. Scored zero for sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | Neurology: journal h-index 525 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 7 / 12 | A longitudinal study following the same people over time |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2005 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 7 / 7 | Cited 1,135 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 49.3 citations a year over 23 year(s) since 2005 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 5.0× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 4 / 6 | Cited by 49 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 4 / 4 | Cited 301 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author John C. Morris: h-index 209 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Washington University in St. Louis: institution h-index 1,962 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 16116116) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 64 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
May need a subscription OpenAlex found no free copy of the full text (checked 6 Feb 1020), so the publisher may charge for it. The PubMed abstract is free.
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here. Showing 12 of 13.
Later studies that cite this one
49 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references. Showing the 8 highest-scoring.
Related studies in Getting a diagnosis
Also tagged “prevalence”
1,224 studies in the library carry the topic tag “prevalence”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 1,224 tagged studies.