Assessing Mild Behavioral Impairment with the Mild Behavioral Impairment-Checklist in People with Mild Cognitive Impairment

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Mallo, Sabela C. ^{a; *} | Ismail, Zahinoor^{b; c; d; e} | Pereiro, Arturo X. ^a | Facal, David^a | Lojo-Seoane, Cristina^a | Campos-Magdaleno, María^a | Juncos-Rabadán, Onésimo^a

Affiliations: [a] Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Santiago de Compostela, Santiago, de Compostela, Galicia, Spain | [b] Department of Psychiatry, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada | [c] Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada | [d] Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada | [e] Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research and Education, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: Sabela C. Mallo, Developmental Psychology, University of Santiago de Compostela, Xosé María Suárez Núñez Street, Campus Sur, Santiago de Compostela, ES–15782, Spain. Tel.: +34 881 813 949; Fax: +34 881 813 901; E-mail: sabelacarme.mallo@usc.es

Abstract: Background:Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) are non-cognitive, behavioral, or psychiatric symptoms, common in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and associated with a higher risk of dementia. Mild behavioral impairment (MBI) is a validated diagnostic entity, that describes the emergence of later life NPS in pre-dementia states. The Mild Behavioral Impairment Checklist (MBI-C) is the first measure developed to assess MBI. Objective:To estimate the prevalence of MBI in people with MCI and to study the score distribution, sensitivity, specificity, diagnostic utility of the MBI-C, and its correlations with neuropsychological tests. Methods:One hundred eleven MCI participants were evaluated with the Questionnaire for Subjective Memory Complaints (QSMC), Mini-Mental State Examination, Cambridge Cognitive Assessment-Revised, Neuropsychiatric Inventory-Questionnaire (NPI-Q), Geriatric Depression Scale-15 items (GDS-15), Lawton and Brody Index, and the MBI-C, which was administered by phone to participants’ informants. Descriptive, logistic regression, ROC curve, and bivariate correlations analyses were performed. Results:MBI diagnosis prevalence was 14.2%. The total MBI-C score differentiated people with MBI at a cutoff-point of 6.5, optimizing sensitivity and specificity. MBI-C total score correlated positively with NPI-Q, QSMC, GDS-15, and Lawton and Brody Index. Conclusion:The total MBI-C score, obtained by phone administration, is sensitive for detecting MBI in people with MCI. The MBI-C scores indicated that MCI participants had subtle NPS that were correlated to their subjective memory complaints reported by informants, depressive symptoms, and negatively with Instrumental Activities of Daily Living. Further research should be done to clarify the predictive role of NPS in MCI for incident dementia.

Keywords: Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia, dementia, mild behavioral impairment, mild cognitive impairment, neuropsychiatric symptoms, preclinical dementia, prodromal dementia

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-180131

Journal: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 66, no. 1, pp. 83-95, 2018