Reactions of clinical neuropsychologists to the Alzheimer's Association workgroup's draft diagnostic and staging criteria for Alzheimer's disease.

BACKGROUND

An Alzheimer's Association (AA) workgroup published criteria for the diagnosis and staging of Alzheimer's disease (AD). To date, there have not been empirical investigations of professionals' opinions regarding the AA criteria for AD.

OBJECTIVE

Our goal was to survey clinical neuropsychologists with expertise in dementia about these criteria.

METHODS

Participants were recruited from a professional interest group of neuropsychologists focused on dementia. They rated their agreement with 15 statements about the AA draft criteria for AD prior to publication of the final version. The 15 statements were rated on a 4-point Likert scale ranging from 1 = Strongly Disagree to 4 = Strongly Agree.

RESULTS

Sixty-one respondents provided analyzable data. When all 15 statements were coded such that higher values suggested more concern about the recommendations, the mean rating was 3.12 (= 0.36), suggesting that overall respondents had modest concerns about the recommendations. The statements that yielded the most concern focused on barriers to the implementation of the recommendations, including a lack of healthcare resources and costs of biomarker testing. Conversely, participants were equivocal about the criteria being a positive step forward and had mixed opinions about the applicability of these criteria to diverse groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Opinions of neuropsychologists suggest the need for important revisions or additions to the AA criteria for AD, including a clearer statement of purpose and more guidance on practical implementation.