title: Validation of the seven-minute screen neurocognitive battery for the diagnosis of dementia in a Spanish population-based sample.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To validate the Seven-Minute Screen Neurocognitive Battery (7MS) in an elderly population-based sample to identify dementia using a new scoring method.
  
  
  METHODS
  Five hundred and twenty-seven home-dwelling elderly were assessed with a neurological and neuropsychological exam. The total score of the 7MS was the sum of z scores of its subtests. Dementia was diagnosed according to DSM-IV. The ROC curve and the diagnostic parameters of the 7MS were calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The 7MS could be fully applied in 416 cases (78.9%), and 48 were diagnosed as demented independently of the 7MS. The four 7MS subtests correctly classified 97.6% of cases by discriminant analysis; orientation and memory were the most discriminative. Factorial analysis showed a single dimension in the 7MS. The ROC curve area for diagnosis of dementia was 0.996 (95% CI 0.992-1), sensitivity 100%, specificity 95.1%, and diagnostic accuracy 96.8%. All these parameters were higher than those of other cognitive screening tests. Dementia explained 54.9% of the variance of the 7MS, and age 3.1%; sex and education did not have a significant effect.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The 7MS is a valid tool for the diagnosis of dementia, even when cognitive decline is mild, although it may not be appropriate for extensive epidemiological surveys.
authors.affiliation: Sección de Neurología, Hospital Severo Ochoa, Leganés, Madrid, Spain. tdeserq@meditex.es
authors.forename: Teodoro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: del Ser
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Sánchez
authors.forename: María Jesús
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: García de Yébenes
authors.forename: Angel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Otero
authors.forename: David G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Munoz
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003704:Dementia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003710:Demography; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D013997:Time Factors