Korean Version of Frontal Assessment Battery: Psychometric Properties and Normative Data

Abstract

Background: We developed the Korean version of the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB-K), evaluated its psychometric properties and constructed normative data for Korean elders. Methods: FAB-K was administered to 300 Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients and 635 normal controls. Reliability of FAB-K was evaluated by testing its internal consistency, test-retest and inter-rater reliabilities. Validity of FAB-K was evaluated by testing discriminant validity for AD and concurrent validity with other frontal function tests. Age- and education-specific normative data of FAB-K were developed. Results: Cronbach’s α, inter-rater reliability and test-retest reliability of FAB-K were 0.802, 0.980 (p < 0.001) and 0.820 (p < 0.001), respectively. FAB-K exhibited significant correlations with the scores of MMSE and other frontal function tests (p < 0.01). Total and item scores of FAB-K were lower in AD patients than in controls and became worse as clinical dementia rating increased (F = 192.026, d.f. = 4, p < 0.001). The optimal cut-off score of FAB-K for AD was determined as 10/11, where sensitivity and specificity for AD were 0.717 and 0.827, respectively. Normative data were stratified by 3 age groups and 4 education groups. Conclusion: The FAB-K is a valid and reliable instrument for evaluating frontal dysfunction, and may be useful for screening AD.

Screening for Executive Dysfunction with the Frontal Assessment Battery: Psychometric Properties Analysis and Representative Normative Data for Brazilian Older Adults

“…The influence of education on test performance was particularly relevant. On this normatization sample, the 50 percentile of illiterate and low educated groups is below the usually adopted cut off score for frontal lobe dysfunction of 10/11 (case/non case) (Kim et al, 2010). The effect of education on test performance is a relevant factor for clinical use and was found in two previous Brazilian studies using the FAB (Beato et al, 2007;2012).…”

Prevalence Rates of Dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment Are Affected by the Diagnostic Parameter Changes for Neurocognitive Disorders in the DSM-5 in a Korean Population

“…In the phase II diagnostic evaluation, geriatric psychiatrists with expertise in dementia research administered a face-to-face standardized diagnostic interview, and physical and neurological examinations were conducted on each subject using the Korean version of the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Packet (CERAD-K) Clinical Assessment Battery (CERAD-K-C) [14]. A research neuropsychologist or trained research nurse administered the CERAD-K Neuropsychological Assessment Battery (CERAD-K-N) [14,15], digit span test (DST) [16], and frontal assessment battery [17] to each subject. Computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging (T1-weighted, T2-weighted, and FLAIR) of the brain, laboratory tests (including complete blood cell counts, chemistry profiles, and a serological test for syphilis), echocardiography, and chest X-rays were conducted on each subject diagnosed with dementia in order to determine the subtype.…”

The Frontal Assessment Battery

“…This approach was adopted based on the previous work comparing several different methods for producing normative data for the MMSE and Montreal Cognitive Assessment, with the current method offering advantages of optimized data usage by maximizing the number of participants contributing to the normative distribution at each midpoint age interval. 30,36,37 This approach is similar to the overlapping strata approach recommended by Kim et al 28 For each age/education stratum, data were presented in the form of mean, standard deviation, median, and range from 5th to 95th percentile.…”