Brazilian version of the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB): Preliminary data on administration to healthy elderly

The Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB) has been proposed as a diagnostic tool for patients with frontal lobe syndrome. Objectives To present the Brazilian version of the FAB and to show preliminary data on the performance of healthy elderly in the battery, correlating with age, education and scores in the Mini- Mental State Examination (MMSE). Methods Forty-eight healthy elderly individuals (34 female/14 male) were evaluated, aged 69.3±6.1 years and with educational level=8.0±5.6 years. The subjects were submitted to the MMSE, the Cornell depression scale and the FAB, in which scores were determined for each item and for the total scale. All individuals had to attain above education adjusted cut-off scores in the MMSE and =7 points on the Cornell depression scale. Correlations were calculated between FAB total scores and age, educational level and MMSE scores, as well as between FAB items and education. Results The mean score ±SD in the FAB was 13.0±2.3(7 to 18). Total FAB scores correlated significantly with education (r=0.37; p=0.01) and MMSE scores (r=0.46; p=0.001). No correlation emerged between FAB scores and age. The mean score ±SD of the MMSE was 27.4 ± 1.8. Considering the six FAB items separately, two of them (similarities and conflicting instructions) correlated significantly with educational. Conclusions In this group of healthy elderly, the Brazilian version of the FAB proved to be influenced by education, but not age.