title: A longitudinal population study of the mini-mental state examination in the very old: relation to dementia and education.
abstract: We examined the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) in relation to the prevalence and incidence of dementia in a representative population sample (n = 494), followed from age 85 to 88. The study included a neuropsychiatric examination (including the MMSE) and a key informant interview conducted by a psychiatrist. Dementia was defined according to the DSM-III-R. Among non-demented 85-year-olds, 75% of those who scored below the cut-off score of 23/24 and 37% of those scoring 24-25 became demented during the follow-up. Non-demented 85-year-olds who did not develop dementia during the following 3 years had a mean decline in MMSE score of 0.6 per year, while those who became demented decreased by 2.3 points per year. A decrease of 4 or more points during the 3 years had a sensitivity of 83% and a specificity of 80% for a diagnosis of dementia. High and low MMSE score at base-line was related to a smaller decrease in MMSE score between age 85 and 88. Higher education was related to higher scores on MMSE at age 85 and to a smaller decline in scores between age 85 and 88. Change in MMSE score in non-demented individuals is small especially among individuals with high education. Non-demented individuals scoring below 26 should receive close attention, as a high proportion are at risk of developing dementia.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Clinical Neuroscience, Section of Psychiatry, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Göteborg University, Sweden.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Aevarsson
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Skoog
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002391:Catchment Area, Health; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D003704:Dementia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D004522:Educational Status; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011159:Population Surveillance; D015995:Prevalence; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology