Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Modified MMSE (3MS): A psychometric comparison and normative data

impairment (NCI; n- 406) and Alzheimer's disease (n = 119). Both tests yielded comparable reliability estimates. Fewer years of education decreased specificity and increased sensitivity, whereas increasing age primarily decreased specificity. It is concluded that although the 2 tests produce com-parable effects, the inclusion of a verbal fluency test would increase the sensitivity of the MMSE. Normative data for the NCI group, stratified for 2 age levels (65-79 and 80-89) and 2 educational levels (0-8 and 9+ years), are presented. Folstein, Folstein, and McHugh (1975) introduced the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) as a brief, objective assess-ment of cognitive functioning and as a measure of changes in cognitive status. The MMSE usually can be administered in 5-10 min and has been employed extensively in clinical settings, community surveys, and epidemiological studies. In a recent review of the literature, Tombaugh and Mclntyre (1992) concluded that the MMSE possessed moderate to high reliability coefficients, demonstrated high levels of sensitivit