Apart from formal cognitive testing or clinical observations, caregiver as an informant has a crucial role in providing useful information in the diagnosis of dementia. If you observed that the elder in your family had displayed significant decline in memory and general cognitive statue, but not sure whether such changes were due to normal aging or dementia, you could use the Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQ-CODE) as a screening tool to assess the functioning of the elderly.

Disclaimer: The IQ-CODE could only be used for screening purpose only and it's not a tool for formal clinical diagnosis of dementia. If you have any inquiries on the results, please arrange with our memory clinic or specialized physicians for detailed consultation and diagnosis.

The Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQ-CODE) was developed by Dr. Anthony Jorm and translated by Dr. J.L. Fuh into Chinese. It is a widely used screening tool of dementia. Research revealed that it has high reliability, sensitivity, and specificity, and it is very useful in differentiating elderly suffering from dementia or from those experiencing normal aging.

Special thanks were given to Dr. Anthony Jorm and Dr. J.L. Fuh for their kind permission to post the IQ-CODE on our website.