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Description: Dataset of the article "Comprehension of written text for the assessment of clinical compentence and decision making in people with mild to moderate Alzheimer Disease". Abstract: Background. Clinical competence is the term used to describe an individual’s capacity to express a choice regarding their participation in clinical procedures or experimental studies. Understanding the information provided is a prerequisite but consent forms are often lengthy and complicated. Alzheimer’s Disease patients may be vulnerable in this area due to cognitive deficits. To date there are no data concerning the potential deficits of patients with regard to the comprehension of written texts and the impact of this on clinical competence. Methods.130 Italian patients with Alzheimer’s Disease were compared to 130 controls in a comprehension task involving a simplified informed consent form. Their performance in this task was compared to their performance with two other types of reading material (a testament and a history text). In addition, the performance of a subgroup of Very Mild patients in this test was compared to their performance in a widely used interview for assessment of clinical competence (MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool for Clinical Research). Results. The consent form was more difficult for patients than the other texts. Nevertheless, patients demonstrated that they were able to comprehend information in a simplified text more easily than during the MacCAT-CR interview. Better performance was correlated to the standard of education and better cognitive functions. Conclusion. AD patients show general deficits regarding the comprehension of written texts and the consent form is particularly difficult. Comprehension may be facilitated by means of specific simplification strategies.