AUTHOR=Pain Debora , Aiello Edoardo Nicolò , Gallucci Marcello , Miglioretti Massimo , Mora Gabriele
TITLE=The Italian Version of the ALS Depression Inventory-12
JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neurology
VOLUME=12
YEAR=2021
URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2021.723776
DOI=10.3389/fneur.2021.723776
ISSN=1664-2295
ABSTRACT=Introduction: Depression is a comorbidity in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). However, its diagnosis is challenged by the co-occurrence of a similar frontotemporal (FT) behavioral symptom—i.e., apathy. Moreover, its psychometric evaluation is confounded by motor disabilities. This study aimed at investigating psychometric properties and feasibility of the ALS Depression Inventory (ADI-12), a self-report questionnaire set up for this issue—as measuring mood changes without referring to movement.
Methods: Eighty-five ALS patients were administered the ADI-12 and underwent cognitive (Mini-Mental State Examination, MMSE), quality of life (McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire, MQoL) and further anxiety/mood (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, HADS) assessments. Reliability, validity, sensitivity, and specificity of the ADI-12 were explored.
Results: Principal component analyses revealed two related components—“Negative Mood and Lack of Energy” (ME) and “Anhedonia” (A). Both components and the inventory as a whole were internally consistent and highly related to HADS-D. ADI-12-total score was also associated with HADS-A. ADI-12 measures were inversely related to MQoL. ADI-12-total/sub-scales were not related to either MMSE or disease-related outcomes. Estimates of depression yielded by HADS-D and ADI-12 were 11.1 and 35.3%.
Discussion: The ADI-12 is a valid, reliable and usable feasibile tool to assess depression in Italian ALS patients independently from motor disabilities. Its interplay with psycho-social outcomes is in agreement with previous studies. The lack of association with cognition suggests that the ADI-12 is partially independent from FT spectrum disorders. The disagreement in depression rates between the ADI-12 and HADS-D suggests the need to ALS-specific mood scales.