title: A self-administered questionnaire to screen the risk of dementia: a pilot study and the results of a comparison with the mini-mental state examination (MMSE).
abstract: Cognitive impairment is an age-related condition as the rate of cognitive decline rapidly increases with aging. The aim of this study was to screen the risk of cognitive decline in people over 60 years from 16 different Italian cities, by comparing the results of a self-administered questionnaire with the MMSE. We analyzed data from 203 persons aged 60 years and over, who voluntarily accepted to participate during the "Second Prevention Day for AD". A self-administered questionnaire, developed by clinicians of our Department of Aging, was distributed to all participants, in order to easily screen the risk of cognitive impairment. Then, all subjects underwent cognitive assessment by MMSE. We esteemed the risk of cognitive impairment of all participants basing on MMSE scores (no risk, mild and moderate risk) and we compared this assessment with the results obtained by the self-administered questionnaire. The comparison between the risk of cognitive impairment revealed by our questionnaire and the risk esteemed by MMSE resulted in a discrepancy in 43.96% of cases in no risk class. In mild risk group there was a discrepancy of results in 70.53% of subjects. In moderate risk class there was a discrepancy of results in 38.46% of individuals. Our questionnaire resulted to be accurate for the evaluation of patients with moderate risk of cognitive impairment. It showed a lower accuracy for the mild risk class, often overestimating the risk of cognitive decline.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular, Respiratory, Nephrological and Geriatric Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Umberto I, Policlinico di Roma, Viale del Policlinico 155, I-00161 Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fossati
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: De Benedetto
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bellomo
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Leboffe
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Marigliano
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mancinella
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ettorre
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Marigliano
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003704:Dementia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000592:standards; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards