Comparison of Precision and Accuracy of Five Methods to Analyse Total Score Data

Total score (TS) data is generated from composite scales consisting of several questions/items, such as the Movement Disorder Society-Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS). The analysis method that most fully use the information gathered is item response theory (IRT) models, but these are complex and require item-level data which may not be available. Therefore, the TS is commonly analysed with standard continuous variable (CV) models, which do not respect the bounded nature of data. Bounded integer (BI) models do respect the data nature but are not as extensively researched. Mixed models for repeated measures (MMRM) are an alternative that requires few assumptions and handles dropout without bias. If an IRT model exists, the expected mean and standard deviation of TS can be computed through IRT-informed functions – which allows CV and BI models to estimate parameters on the IRT scale. The fit, performance on external data, and parameter precision (when applicable) of CV, BI and MMRM to analyse simulated TS data from the MDS-UPDRS motor subscale is investigated in this work. All models provided accurate predictions and residuals without trends, but the fit of CV and BI models was improved by IRT-informed functions. The IRT-informed BI model had more precise parameter estimates than the IRT-informed CV model. The IRT-informed models also had the best performance on external data, while the MMRM model was worst. In conclusion: 1) IRT-informed functions improve TS-analyses and 2) IRT-informed BI models had more precise IRT parameter estimates than IRT-informed CV models