J Korean Geriatr Psychiatry.  2001 Jun;5(1):86-95.

The Behavior Pathology in Alzheimer's Disease Rating Scale, Korean Version (BEHAVE-AD-K): Factor Structure among Alzheimer's Disease Inpatients

• Suh GH
• Park JH

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
The aims of this study were to determine the factor structure of the BEHAVE-AD, Korean version, and to identify the cross-cultural validity of the observed factors . DESIGN: Cross-sectional study of geriatric patients evaluated at a mental hospital for the elderly. SAMPLE: One hundred and twelve consecutive patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease (AD) according to NINCDS-ADRDA diagnostic criteria (52 probable AD and 60 possible AD).
RESULTS
Principal component analysis with Varimax rotation resulted in a five-factor solution that accounted for 50.0% of the common variance. The five factors included behavioral dyscontrol (wandering, purposeless activity, inappropriate activity, verbal aggressiveness, physical threats/ violence), anxiety (agitation, anxiety of upcoming events, other anxiety, fear of being left alone and other phobia), delusions (delusion of theft, delusion one's house is not one's home, delusion of infidelity, suspiciousness/paranoia, other delusion), hallucination (visual hallucination, auditory hallucination), depression (delusion of abandonment, tearfulness, depressed mood).
CONCLUSION
The results of this study suggest that the BEHAVE-AD measures a wide range of behavioral pathology that can be empirically represented by five independent symptom clusters among AD patients admitted in a mental hospital for the Korean elderly. Cross-cultural persepctive may be necessary to interpret factor structure of this study compared to other studies from Western countries.

Keyword

Factor structure; Alzheimer's disease; Dementia; Behavioral disorders; Psychosis

MeSH Terms

Aged
Alzheimer Disease*
Anxiety
Cross-Sectional Studies
Delusions
Dementia
Depression
Hallucinations
Hospitals, Psychiatric
Humans
Inpatients*
Pathology*
Principal Component Analysis
Psychotic Disorders
Theft