Table 3. Comparison of SD and AD patients with increased PARS scores after dementia onset.
| Each item of PARSa | SD (n = 20) | AD (n = 20) | χ2 | p values |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Persistently asks the same questiona (RI) | 9 | 11 | 0.40 | 0.75 |
| 2. Becomes confused when everyday situations or routines change (RI) | 6 | 3 | 1.29 | 0.45 |
| 3. Cannot maintain personal independence due to disrupted lifestyle (R) | 3 | 9 | 4.29 | 0.082 |
| 4. Becomes unstable when recalling unpleasant memories (R) | 0 | 3 | 3.24 | 0.23 |
| 5. Extremely unbalanced diet; eats very few food items (H) | 7 | 1 | 5.62 | 0.044 |
| 6. Disturbed by particular sounds (H) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1.0 |
| 7. Is either insensitive or oversensitive to pain, heat, etc. (H) | 13 | 8 | 2.51 | 0.21 |
| 8. Is very scared over nothing (R) | 0 | 0 | - | - |
| 9. Suddenly cries or becomes upset (R) | 0 | 1 | 1.03 | 1.0 |
| 10. Shows self-injurious action such as banging head on wall or chewing hands (R) | 2 | 0 | 2.11 | 0.49 |
| 11. Does not have appropriate friendship for his/her age (I) | 13 | 13 | 0.00 | 1.0 |
| 12. Does not care about others and behaves selfishly (I) | 10 | 3 | 5.58 | 0.04 |
| 13. Cannot respond appropriately to others (I) | 5 | 1 | 3.14 | 0.18 |
| 14. Only speaks to others when making a request (I) | 9 | 4 | 2.85 | 0.17 |
| 15. Has difficulty understanding what is said according to each situation (C) | 15 | 11 | 1.76 | 0.32 |
| 16. Tends to use difficult words without understanding their meanings (C) | 0 | 0 | - | - |
| 17. Cannot figure out who is the talker and who is the listener in conversation with many people (C) | 11 | 8 | 0.90 | 0.53 |
| 18. Cannot explain/answer with causality (C) | 14 | 15 | 0.13 | 1.0 |
| 19. Talks in monotonous and unnatural tone (C) | 2 | 0 | 2.11 | 0.48 |
| 20. Cannot recognize/understand others’ feelings and thoughts (C) | 15 | 7 | 6.47 | 0.025 |
| 21. Only interprets language in a literal sense; cannot understand jokes or irony (C) | 16 | 5 | 12.13 | 0.001 |
| 22. Immerses her/himself in specific knowledge acquisition such as name of places or train stations (RI) | 3 | 0 | 3.24 | 0.07 |
| 23. Does an impression of familiar TV scene alone (RI) | 1 | 0 | 1.02 | 1.0 |
| 24. Repeats inappropriate behavior tenaciously in spite of others’ disapproval (RI) | 4 | 0 | 4.44 | 0.11 |
| 25. Cannot settle down without taking first place in any situation (RI) | 1 | 0 | 1.03 | 1.0 |
| 26. Has tic disorder (R) | 1 | 2 | 0.36 | 1.0 |
| 27. Is restless and cannot adjust behavior to the occasion (R) | 8 | 3 | 3.14 | 0.16 |
| 28. Is inattentive and cannot adjust behavior to the occasion (R) | 5 | 1 | 3.14 | 0.18 |
| 29. His/her actions are often interrupted and he/she cannot transfer to the new action (R) | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1.0 |
| 30. Behaves as if s/he never feels shame (I) | 7 | 4 | 1.13 | 0.48 |
| 31. Is easily tricked (I) | 7 | 9 | 0.42 | 0.75 |
| 32. Interprets others’ statements as persecutory or offensive; paranoid (R) | 2 | 4 | 0.78 | 0.66 |
| 33. Shows mood swings and recurring depression and agitation (R) | 2 | 5 | 1.56 | 0.41 |
aThe 12 items of the PARS short version are underlined.
PARS, Pervasive Developmental Disorders Autism Society Japan Rating Scale; SD, semantic dementia; AD, Alzheimer’s disease, RI; restricted interests, R; resistance, H; hypersensitivity, I; interpersonal relationship, C; communication.