Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) Scale

The CDR is a clinically based, semistructured interview, which rates impairment level in 6 cognitive domains: memory, orientation, judgment/problem solving, community affairs, home and hobbies, and personal care.

Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) Scale

CDR Score	Impairment
	0 Healthy	0.5 Very Mild	1 Mild	2 Moderate	3 Severe
Memory	No memory loss or slight in consistent forgetfulness	Consistent slight forgetfulness; partial recollection of events; “benign” forgetfulness	Moderate memory loss; more marked for recent events; defect interferes with everyday activities	Severe memory loss; only highly learned material retained; new material rapidly lost	Severe memory loss, only fragments remain
Orientation	Fully orientated	Fully orientated except for slight difficulty with time relationships	Moderate difficulty with time relationships; may have geographic disorientation elsewhere	Severe difficulty with time relationships; usually disorientated in time, often to place	Orientated to person only
Judgment Problem-Solving	Solves everyday problems and business affairs well; judgment good in relation to past performance	Slight impairment in solving problems, similarities, differences	Moderate difficulty in handling problems, similarities, differences	Severely impaired in handling problems, similarities, differences	Unable to make judgments or solve problems
Community Affairs	Independent function at usual level in job, shopping, volunteer and social groups	Slight impairment in these activities	Unable to function independently at these activities, though may still be engaged in some	No pretense of independent function outside home. Appears well enough to be taken to functions outside a family home	No pretense of independent function outside home. Appears too ill to be taken to functions outside a family home
Home & Hobbies	Life at home, hobbies, intellectual interests well maintained	Life at home, hobbies, intellectual interests slightly impaired	Mild but definite impairment of function at home; more complicated hobbies abandoned	Only simple chores preserved;very restricted interests, poorly maintained	No significant function in home
Personal Care	Fully capable of self-care	Fully capable of self-care	Needs prompting	Requires assistance in hygiene, keeping of personal effects	Requires much help with personal care

The Global CDR Score is useful for characterizing and tracking a patient’s level of impairment/dementia3. The Global CDR Score ranges from 0 (normal) to 3 (severe dementia).

 

References:

1. Cummings J, Hahn-Pedersen JH, Eichinger CS, Freeman C, Clark A, Tarazona LRS, Lanctôt K. Exploring the relationship between patient-relevant outcomes and Alzheimer’s disease progression assessed using the clinical dementia rating scale: a systematic literature review. Front Neurol. 2023 Aug 17;14:1208802. [Medline]
2. Ousset PJ, Andrieu S, Reynish E, Puel M, Vellas B. Evaluation clinique de la démence d’une cohorte de 358 patients par la version française de l’échelle CDR [Clinical evaluation of dementia in a cohort of 358 patients with the French version of the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) scale]. Rev Med Interne. 2003 Oct;24 Suppl 3:283s-287s. [Medline]

 

Created Sep 24, 2024