Limits of the 'Mini-Mental State' as a screening test for dementia and delirium among hospital patients.
With a psychiatrist's standardized clinical diagnosis as the criterion, the 'Mini-Mental State' Examination (MMSE) was 87% sensitive and 82% specific in detecting dementia and delirium among hospital patients on a general medical ward. The false positive ratio was 39% and the false negative ratio was 5%. All false positives had less than 9 years of education; many were 60 years of age or older. Performance on specific MMSE items was related to education or age. These findings confirm the MMSE's value as a screen instrument for dementia and delirium when later, more intensive diagnostic enquiry is possible; they reinforce earlier suggestions that the MMSE alone cannot yield a diagnosis for these conditions.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003693:Delirium / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D003704:Dementia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D008609:Mental Status Schedule; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors