The reliability and validity of the mini-mental state in a British community survey

doi:10.1016/0022-3956(89)90021-6

Journal of Psychiatric Research

Volume 23, Issue 1, 1989, Pages 87-96

https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-3956(89)90021-6 Get rights and content

Abstract

The Mini-Mental State (MMSE) was administered to 2302 general practice patients aged 75 yr and over. Those scoring 23 or less and a sample of those scoring 24 or 25 were selected for further investigation using the Cambridge Mental Disorders of the Elderly Examination. Inter-observer reliability was high with a mean kappa value of 0.97. Eighty-six per cent of respondents judged to have organic mental disorders scored 23 or less on the MMSE and 92% of those judged to be cognitively intact scored 24 or more. However, only 55% of respondents who scored 23 or less were demented or delirious while a number of relatively well educated, mildly demented subjects scored 24 and 25. The customary cut-off point of 23/24 may need to be revised in future community studies. MMSE scores cannot be used to make even tentative psychiatric diagnoses; more detailed investigation of low scorers is essential.

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The reliability and validity of the mini-mental state in a British community survey

Abstract

Journal of Psychiatric Research

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

Limits of the ‘Mini-Mental State’ as a screening test for dementia and delirium among hospital patients

Psychological Medicine

The use of a two-phase design in a prevalence survey

Social Psychiatry

The meaning of cognitive impairment in the elderly

Journal of the American Geriatrics Society

Reliability studies in psychiatric diagnosis: theory and practice

Archives of General Psychiatry

An epidemiologic assessment of cognitive impairment in a community population

Research in Community and Mental Health