title: A Chinese version of the Mini-Mental State Examination; impact of illiteracy in a Shanghai dementia survey.
abstract: A dementia screening survey was carried out in Shanghai using a culturally adapted Chinese version of the Mini-Mental State Examination. A probability sample of 5055 community-dwelling elderly in Shanghai was surveyed, 1497 aged 55-64, 2187 aged 65-74, and 1371 aged 75 and over. In the 73.3% of the subjects who had gone to school, using the age and education adjustments suggested by Kittner et al. (1986), [Kittner et al. J Chron Dis 39: 163-170; 1986] suitable cutoff scores could readily be selected to identify the subjects who should be examined intensively for the presence of dementia. However, in the 26.7% who had not gone to school, there was a significant increase in low scores on the mental status test as well as a different error pattern, reflecting the lack of formal education. Methods for following cognitive changes in illiterate individuals need further development.
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Mental Health Centre, China.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Katzman
authors.forename: M Y
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.lastname: Ouang-Ya-Qu
authors.forename: Z Y
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: W T
authors.initials: WT
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: D P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Salmon
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Grant
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002641:Chicago; D002681:China; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003704:Dementia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008609:Mental Status Schedule; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales