USE OF THE MINI-MENTAL-STATE-EXAMINATION TO DETERMINE THE USEFULNESS OF SUBSEQUENT COGNITIVE ASSESSMENT IN MODERATELY TO SEVERELY DEMENTED SUBJECTS

This study was undertaken to investigate whether it was possible to identify a 'cutoff' score on the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) below which further cognitive assessment would be of little benefit for research or diagnostic purposes. Evaluation of cognitive assessments in 467 subjects, aged 31-92 (mean 71.4 years), in whom an MMSE score was also available revealed, for those patients scoring ≤5 out of 30, that the majority of a further battery of tasks testing amnesia, aphasia, visuospatial ability and intellectual processing were too difficult. Half of the subjects were too severely impaired to complete 16 of the 17 tasks. When the MMSE score was 8 out of 30 or less, there were eight tasks where a minimum of 50% of patients were untestable. In summary, subjects scoring 8 or less on the MMSE are unlikely to be able to cooperate meaningfully with further cognitive assessment, using psychometric test batteries such as that currently in use in our clinic, and similar batteries