Review Article

Quality of Life in Patients with Dementia with Lewy Bodies

Table 1

Characteristics of QoL measurement scales for dementia.

InstrumentPatient reportProxy reportDomainsItemsMeasurementBrief summary

Quality of Life in Alzheimer’s Disease (QOL-AD)YesYesPhysical health
Mental health
Social and functional domains
13 (15 for proxy version)Four-point scale score
Range 13–52 for patient report and range 15–60 for proxy report
Higher scores equal to higher QoL
The best researched of all the dementia measurement scales
Relatively brief
Suitable for mild to severe dementia
Dementia Quality of Life questionnaire (DEMQOL)YesYesDaily activities and looking after self
Health and well-being
Cognitive functioning
Social relationships
Self-concept
28 (31 for proxy version)Four-point scale score
Range 28–112 for patient report and range 31–124 for proxy report
Higher scores equal to higher QoL
The conceptual framework is based on health-related QoL, with less social relevance
The proxy version performed well in psychometric tests
Suitable for mild to moderate dementia
EuroQol 5-dimension (EQ-5D-5L)YesNo1st part:
Mobility
Hygiene
Usual activities
Pain/discomfort
Anxiety/depression
2nd part:
Visual analogue scale (VAS)
No1st part: having no problems for 1, having slight problems for 2, having moderate problems for 3, having severe problems for 4, and being unable to do/having extreme problems for 5
2nd part: 0 for worst; 100 for best health status
A generic, preference-based instrument for health related QoL
The 5-digit number for 5 domains can be converted into a single weighted index score
Appropriate in people with mild to moderate dementia
Short Form-36 (SF-36)YesNoVitality
Physical functioning
Bodily pain
General health perceptions
Physical role functioning
Emotional role functioning
Social role functioning
Mental health
36One score in each domain, calculated by special software, representing weighted sums of the questions (0 equivalent to maximum disability; 100 equivalent to no disability)A generic health status measure
A shorter version, SF-12, was developed to minimize respondent burden if only physical and mental health summary scores are of interest