Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Delirium Rating Scale Revised-98 (DRS-R98)

• Published in: The journal of neuropsychiatry and clinical neurosciences Vol. 27; no. 2; pp. e122 - e127
• Main Authors: Thurber, Steven, Kishi, Yasuhiro, Trzepacz, Paula T, Franco, Jose G, Meagher, David J, Lee, Yanghyun, Kim, Jeong-Lan, Furlanetto, Leticia M, Negreiros, Daniel, Huang, Ming-Chyi, Chen, Chun-Hsin, Kean, Jacob, Leonard, Maeve
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Psychiatric Association 01.04.2015
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Cross-Sectional Studies; Delirium - diagnosis; Delirium - epidemiology; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Neuropsychological Tests; Principal Component Analysis; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
• ISSN: 0895-0172; 1545-7222
• DOI: 10.1176/appi.neuropsych.13110345

Principal components analysis applied to the Delirium Rating Scale-Revised-98 contributes to understanding the delirium construct. Using a multisite pooled international delirium database, the authors applied confirmatory factor analysis to Delirium Rating Scale-Revised-98 scores from 859 adult patients evaluated by delirium experts (delirium, N=516; nondelirium, N=343). Confirmatory factor analysis found all diagnostic features and core symptoms (cognitive, language, thought process, sleep-wake cycle, motor retardation), except motor agitation, loaded onto factor 1. Motor agitation loaded onto factor 2 with noncore symptoms (delusions, affective lability, and perceptual disturbances). Factor 1 loading supports delirium as a single construct, but when accompanied by psychosis, motor agitation’s role may not be solely as a circadian activity indicator.