Dementia Questionnaire for Persons with Mental Retardation (DMR): Modified Criteria for Adults with Down's Syndrome

Independent assessment of the validity of the Dementia Questionnaire for Persons with Mental Retardation (DMR questionnaire) in screening for dementia in 100 adults with Down's syndrome is reported. Changes to criteria are required for use in the general Down's syndrome population. For single assessments (absolute scores) the new recommended criteria are: mild intellectual disability (ID) sum of cognitive scores (SCS) ≥ 7 and sum of social scores (SOS) ≥ 10, moderate ID SCS ≥ 25 and SOS ≥ 15, severe ID SCS ≥ 34 and SOS ≥ 15. Using the new criteria both sensitivity and specificity of new criteria were 82%. The sensitivity of longitudinal score‐changes was found to be relatively low (60%), suggesting a limited role in the screening for dementia. It is concluded that the DMR questionnaire, using the modified criteria, can aid screening for dementia in the general Down's syndrome population.