Spanish version of the Frontotemporal Dementia Knowledge Scale: adaptation and validation

ABSTRACT

Background: Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a neurodegenerative disease and is one of the most common causes of dementia in people under 65. There is often a significant diagnostic delay, as FTD can be confused with other psychiatric conditions. A lack of knowledge regarding FTD by health professionals is one possible cause for this diagnostic confusion. Objectives: The aim of this study was to adapt and validate the Frontotemporal Dementia Knowledge Scale (FTDKS) in Spanish. Methods: A translation was done, following cross-cultural adaptation guidelines, which consisted of forward translation, blind back translation, and an analysis by a committee of experts. For the present study, 134 professionals from different health areas responded the Spanish version of the FTDKS. The statistical analysis was performed using R version 4.0.0 “Arbor day” and the Psych, sjPlot packages. Results: The Spanish version of the FTDKS had good reliability and internal consistency (Cronbach alpha 0.74.). The sample's mean score was 19.78 (range = 4-32, SD 6.3) out of a maximum of 36 points. Conclusions: The results obtained show that the Spanish version has good psychometric properties. The FTDKS is applicable in our environment and can be a useful tool to evaluate the knowledge of health professionals regarding frontotemporal dementia.

RESUMEN

Antecedentes: La demencia frontotemporal (DFT) es una enfermedad neurodegenerativa y es una de las causas más comunes de demencia en personas menores de 65 años. A menudo existe un retraso significativo en el diagnóstico, ya que la FTD puede confundirse con otras afecciones psiquiátricas. La falta de conocimientos sobre la DFT por parte de los profesionales de salud es una posible causa de esta confusión diagnóstica. Objetivos: El presente estudio describe nuestros esfuerzos para adaptar y validar la Escala de Conocimiento de la Demencia Frontotemporal (FTDKS) en español. Métodos: Se realizó una traducción, siguiendo las pautas de adaptación transcultural, que consistió en una traducción directa, una traducción inversa ciega y un análisis por parte de un comité de expertos. Para el presente estudio, 134 profesionales de diferentes áreas de la salud respondieron la versión en español del FTDKS. El análisis estadístico se realizó utilizando la versión 4.0.0 de R "Arbor day" y los paquetes Psych, sjPlot. Resultados: La versión en español del FTDKS tiene una buena fiabilidad y consistencia interna (alfa de Cronbach 0,74.). La puntuación media de la muestra fue de 19,78 (rango = 4-32, SD 6,3) sobre un máximo de 36 puntos. Conclusiones: Los resultados obtenidos muestran que la versión española tiene buenas propiedades psicométricas. El FTDKS es aplicable en nuestro medio y puede ser una herramienta útil para evaluar los conocimientos de los profesionales sanitarios sobre la demencia frontotemporal.

Keywords:

Frontotemporal Dementia - Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration - Aphasia - Dementia - Diagnostic Errors - Neuropsychiatry

Palabras claves:

Demencia Frontotemporal - Degeneración Lobar Frontotemporal - Afasia - Demencia - Errores Diagnósticos - Neuropsiquiatría

Authors’ contributions:

NMG: lead author of the paper, in charge of all development stages; IC: in charge of the process of conceptualization and methodology of the project, data collection, statistical analysis and editing of the manuscript; PMB: carried out supervision tasks of the project, data acquisition and editing of the manuscript; MW: author of the original scale and contributed to the supervision and editing of the manuscript; RFA: carried out supervision tasks of the project, data acquisition and editing of the manuscript.

Publication History

Received: 01 December 2020

Accepted: 21 May 2021

Article published online:
30 January 2023

• REFERENCES

• 1 Elahi FM, Miller BL. A clinicopathological approach to the diagnosis of dementia. Nat Rev Neurol 2017; 13 (08) 457-476 https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneurol.2017.96
• 2 Rascovsky K, Hodges JR, Knopman D, Mendez MF, Kramer JH, Neuhaus J. et al. Sensitivity of revised diagnostic criteria for the behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia. Brain 2011; 134 (09) 2456-2477 https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awr179
• 3 Karageorgiou E, Miller BL. Frontotemporal lobar degeneration: a clinical approach. Semin Neurol 2014; 34 (02) 189-201 https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0034-1381735
• 4 Bang J, Spina S, Miller BL. Frontotemporal dementia. Lancet 2015; 386 10004 1672-1682 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(15)00461-4
• 5 Moore KM, Nicholas J, Grossman M, McMillan CT, Irwin DJ, Massimo L. et al. Age at symptom onset and death and disease duration in genetic frontotemporal dementia: an international retrospective cohort study. Lancet Neurol 2020; 19 (02) P145-P156 https://doi.org/10.1016/S1474-4422(19)30394-1
• 6 Young JJ, Lavakumar M, Tampi D, Balachandran S, Tampi RR. Frontotemporal dementia: latest evidence and clinical implications. Ther Adv Psychopharmacol 2018; 8 (01) 33-48 https://doi.org/10.1177/2045125317739818
• 7 Coyle-Gilchrist ITS, Dick KM, Patterson K, Rodríquez PV, Wehmann E, Wilcox A. et al. Prevalence, characteristics, and survival of frontotemporal lobar degeneration syndromes. Neurology 2016; 86 (18) 1736-1743 https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.20200550202005502638
• 8 Onyike CU, Diehl-Schmid J. The epidemiology of frontotemporal dementia. Int Rev Psychiatry 2013; 25 (02) 130-137 https://doi.org/10.3109/09540261.2013.776523
• 9 Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos. Censo nacional de población, hogares y viviendas 2010: censo del bicentenario. 1. Buenos Aires: Instituto Nacional de Estadístas y Censos - INDEC; 2012. 378.
• 10 Ratnavalli E, Brayne C, Dawson K, Hodges JR. The prevalence of frontotemporal dementia. Neurology 2002; 58 (11) 1615-1621 https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.58.11.1615
• 11 Hogan DB, Jetté N, Fiest KM, Roberts JI, Pearson D, Smith EE. et al. The Prevalence and Incidence of Frontotemporal Dementia: a Systematic Review. Can J Neurol Sci 2016; 43: S1-S96 (109) https://doi.org/10.1017/cjn.2016.25
• 12 Snowden JS, Neary D, Mann DMA. Frontotemporal dementia. Br J Psychiatry 2002; 180 (02) 140-143 https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.180.2.140
• 13 Riedl L, Mackenzie IR, Förstl H, Kurz A, Diehl-Schmid J. Frontotemporal lobar degeneration: current perspectives. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat 2014; 10: 297-310 https://doi.org/10.2147/NDT.S38706
• 14 Beaton DE, Bombardier C, Guillemin F, Ferraz MB. Guidelines for the process of cross-cultural adaptation of self-report measures. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 2000; 25 (24) 3186-3191 https://doi.org/10.1097/00007632-200012150-00014
• 15 Revelle W. Procedures for personality and psychological research. 1.9.12 Evanston (IL): Northwestern Universirty; 2019. https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=psych
• 16 Lüdecke D. Data Visualization for Statistics in Social Science. R package version 2.8.4; 2021. https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=sjPlot
• 17 Rich B. Tables of Descriptive Statistics in HTML. R package version 1.2; 2020. https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=table1