Background The patient-reported Dimensional Anhedonia Rating Scale(DARS)has been adapted into Chinese,so there is a need to evaluate its measurement properties in a Chinese population.Aims To evaluate the reliability ...Background The patient-reported Dimensional Anhedonia Rating Scale(DARS)has been adapted into Chinese,so there is a need to evaluate its measurement properties in a Chinese population.Aims To evaluate the reliability and validity of the DARS among Chinese individuals with major depressive disorder(MDD)and its treatment sensitivity in a prospective clinical study.Methods Data were from a multicentre,prospective clinical study(NCT03294525),which recruited both patients with MDD,who were followed for 8 weeks,and healthy controls(HCs),assessed at baseline only.The analysis included confirmatory factor analysis,validity and sensitivity to change.Results Patients’mean(standard deviation(SD))age was 34.8(11.0)years,with 68.7%being female.75.2%of patients with MDD had melancholic features,followed by 63.8%with anxious distress.Patients had experienced MDD for a mean(SD)of 9.2(18)months.DARS scores covered the full range of severity with no major floor or ceiling effects.Confirmatory factor analysis showed adequate fit statistics(comparative fit index 0.976,goodness-of-fit index 0.935 and root mean square error of approximation 0.055).Convergent validity with anhedonia-related measures was confirmed.While the correlation between the DARS and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale was not strong(r=0.31,baseline),the DARS was found to differentiate between levels of depression.Greater improvements in DARS scores were seen with the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression responder group(effect size 1.16)compared with the non-responder group(effect size 0.46).Conclusions This study comprehensively evaluated the measurement properties of the DARS using a Chinese population with MDD.Overall,the Chinese version of DARS demonstrates good psychometric properties and has been found to be responsive to change during antidepressant treatment.The DARS is a suitable scale for assessing patient-reported anhedonia in future clinical trials.展开更多
The current pandemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), commonly referred to as COVID-19, brings myriad challenges to research conducted among those more susceptible to the virus. Accordi...The current pandemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), commonly referred to as COVID-19, brings myriad challenges to research conducted among those more susceptible to the virus. According to the United States (US) Centers for Disease Control (CDC), eight out of ten re-ported COVID-19 deaths are among people > 65 years of age and older. Nonetheless, researchers must continue the crucial work of investigating and understanding diseases that affect the elderly. The focus of this white paper is to assess the challenges associated with research within the elderly population with neurocognitive conditions. Specifically, this paper addresses the need for the standardized administration of performance measures (e.g., neurocognitive assessments) among a dementia population while ensuring the physical safety of participants. Consideration is given to the administration of performance measures and the availability and feasibility of administering these measures remotely to a population that may have difficulty using novel technologies. In implementing remote research assessments, it is suggested that researchers fol-low a GAMMA approach by: 1) establishing clear Guidance on remote visit expectations and processes;2) establishing Appropriate exclusionary criteria in the development of the study design;3) providing subjects Appropriate study Materials for visual processing;4) incorporating Multiple data sources in the overall study design (e.g., caregiver input);and 5) Acknowledging that there will be study limitations as researchers use emerging technology with this patient population, and using mitigation strategies for these limitations where possible.展开更多
Background: Many instruments used to assess outcomes of treatment for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) have no published evidence of their relevance and content validity in earlier stages of the disease, i.e., mild cognitive...Background: Many instruments used to assess outcomes of treatment for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) have no published evidence of their relevance and content validity in earlier stages of the disease, i.e., mild cognitive impairment, or prodromal AD (pAD). The objective of this project was to evaluate the applicability and usefulness of the Perceived Deficits Questionnaire (PDQ) as an outcome measure in this population using qualitative methodology to support content validity. Method: Two waves of qualitative interviews were conducted in patients with MCI and pAD. Results: Evidence for content validity and usefulness of the instrument was demonstrated in the patient interviews. Minor modifications to the wording of several items were suggested for the PDQ and the recall period was changed. Conclusion: With these modifications, the PDQ has improved content validity and relevance. It is therefore a potentially useful outcome measure to evaluate therapeutic benefit in interventional studies of patients in the early stages of AD.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.82371530,82171529)the Capital Health Development Special Research Project(2022-1-4111)the National Key Technology R and D Program(No.2015BAI13B01).
文摘Background The patient-reported Dimensional Anhedonia Rating Scale(DARS)has been adapted into Chinese,so there is a need to evaluate its measurement properties in a Chinese population.Aims To evaluate the reliability and validity of the DARS among Chinese individuals with major depressive disorder(MDD)and its treatment sensitivity in a prospective clinical study.Methods Data were from a multicentre,prospective clinical study(NCT03294525),which recruited both patients with MDD,who were followed for 8 weeks,and healthy controls(HCs),assessed at baseline only.The analysis included confirmatory factor analysis,validity and sensitivity to change.Results Patients’mean(standard deviation(SD))age was 34.8(11.0)years,with 68.7%being female.75.2%of patients with MDD had melancholic features,followed by 63.8%with anxious distress.Patients had experienced MDD for a mean(SD)of 9.2(18)months.DARS scores covered the full range of severity with no major floor or ceiling effects.Confirmatory factor analysis showed adequate fit statistics(comparative fit index 0.976,goodness-of-fit index 0.935 and root mean square error of approximation 0.055).Convergent validity with anhedonia-related measures was confirmed.While the correlation between the DARS and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale was not strong(r=0.31,baseline),the DARS was found to differentiate between levels of depression.Greater improvements in DARS scores were seen with the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression responder group(effect size 1.16)compared with the non-responder group(effect size 0.46).Conclusions This study comprehensively evaluated the measurement properties of the DARS using a Chinese population with MDD.Overall,the Chinese version of DARS demonstrates good psychometric properties and has been found to be responsive to change during antidepressant treatment.The DARS is a suitable scale for assessing patient-reported anhedonia in future clinical trials.
文摘The current pandemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), commonly referred to as COVID-19, brings myriad challenges to research conducted among those more susceptible to the virus. According to the United States (US) Centers for Disease Control (CDC), eight out of ten re-ported COVID-19 deaths are among people > 65 years of age and older. Nonetheless, researchers must continue the crucial work of investigating and understanding diseases that affect the elderly. The focus of this white paper is to assess the challenges associated with research within the elderly population with neurocognitive conditions. Specifically, this paper addresses the need for the standardized administration of performance measures (e.g., neurocognitive assessments) among a dementia population while ensuring the physical safety of participants. Consideration is given to the administration of performance measures and the availability and feasibility of administering these measures remotely to a population that may have difficulty using novel technologies. In implementing remote research assessments, it is suggested that researchers fol-low a GAMMA approach by: 1) establishing clear Guidance on remote visit expectations and processes;2) establishing Appropriate exclusionary criteria in the development of the study design;3) providing subjects Appropriate study Materials for visual processing;4) incorporating Multiple data sources in the overall study design (e.g., caregiver input);and 5) Acknowledging that there will be study limitations as researchers use emerging technology with this patient population, and using mitigation strategies for these limitations where possible.
文摘Background: Many instruments used to assess outcomes of treatment for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) have no published evidence of their relevance and content validity in earlier stages of the disease, i.e., mild cognitive impairment, or prodromal AD (pAD). The objective of this project was to evaluate the applicability and usefulness of the Perceived Deficits Questionnaire (PDQ) as an outcome measure in this population using qualitative methodology to support content validity. Method: Two waves of qualitative interviews were conducted in patients with MCI and pAD. Results: Evidence for content validity and usefulness of the instrument was demonstrated in the patient interviews. Minor modifications to the wording of several items were suggested for the PDQ and the recall period was changed. Conclusion: With these modifications, the PDQ has improved content validity and relevance. It is therefore a potentially useful outcome measure to evaluate therapeutic benefit in interventional studies of patients in the early stages of AD.
