Validation of the standard assessment of global everyday activities (SAGEA) scale for dementia diagnosis

BACKGROUND: Standardised questionnaires of cognitive symptoms and cognitive-related function can assist in diagnosing dementia. The Standardised Assessment of Global Everyday Activities (SAGEA) is a 15-item questionnaire, developed to measure functional status by capturing cognitive symptoms, basic and instrumental activities of daily living, participation in activites, and mobility. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to validate the SAGEA as a tool for assessing cognitive dysfunction in dementia. METHODS: Participants with dementia, mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or subjective cognitive decline (SCD) were selected from the clinic-based Prospective Registry for Persons with Memory Symptoms (PROMPT), and cognitively asymptomatic, unimpaired controls were selected from the Canadian Platform for Research Online to Investigate Health, Quality of Life, Cognition, Behaviour, Function and Caregiving in Ageing study. RESULTS: SAGEA scores correlated well with the Lawton-Brody scale for instrumental activities of daily living (r = -0.68, P < 0.0001). SAGEA scores differed significantly across participant groups, highest for individuals with dementia (17.7 ± 8.59) followed by MCI (10.8 ± 9.10), SCD (8.07 ± 7.06) and controls (1.60 ± 2.07). The SAGEA classified dementia with an AUC of 0.97, sensitivity of 94.5% and specificity of 94.6% at a cut-off point of ≥6 points based on Youden's index. A dementia diagnosis algorithm based on the SAGEA distinguished dementia from controls with a sensitivity of 68% and specificity of 100%. CONCLUSIONS: This study supports the utility of the SAGEA as an adjunct to diagnosing dementia and a potentially useful screening tool.