Equivalence of two screens of cognitive functioning: the Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire and the Orientation-Memory-Concentration test.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the equivalence of two screens of cognitive functioning: the Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire (SPMSQ) and the Orientation-Memory-Concentration (OMC) test.


METHODS
The design was cross-sectional and longitudinal.


METHODS
Four rural and one urban county in the Piedmont region of North Carolina (n = 3210).


METHODS
A stratified random cluster sample (n = 3210) of people 68 years of age and older.


METHODS
SPMSQ and OMC at the fourth wave of the Duke Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (EPESE); disability, depression, and death measurements from the fourth through seventh waves of EPESE; demographic characteristics.


RESULTS
On the SPMSQ and the OMC (r = .80), 15.3% and 38.4%, respectively, of those tested were rated cognitively impaired. Poorer scores were associated with older age, black race, and less education. These associations were attenuated on the dichotomized SPMSQ but not on the OMC. Both measures predicted disability and depressive symptomatology currently and 3 years hence and death.


CONCLUSIONS
The SPMSQ and OMC, although highly correlated, are not equivalent. Association with race and education are greater for the OMC, whereas an association with age exists for both measures. The milder level of impairment identified by the OMC increases predictive capacity.
Fillenbaum
G G
GG
Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA.
Landerman
L R
LR
Simonsick
E M
EM
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001288:Attention; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality; D003704:Dementia / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality; D003863:Depression / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008568:Memory; D008609:Mental Status Schedule / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009657:North Carolina / Q000453:epidemiology; D009949:Orientation; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis