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. 2005 May 4:5:7.
doi: 10.1186/1471-2318-5-7.

Brief cognitive assessment in a UK population sample -- distributional properties and the relationship between the MMSE and an extended mental state examination

Felicia A Huppert  1 , Sara T Cabelli, Fiona E Matthews; MRC Cognitive Function and Ageing Study
Affiliations

Brief cognitive assessment in a UK population sample -- distributional properties and the relationship between the MMSE and an extended mental state examination

Felicia A Huppert et al. BMC Geriatr. .

Abstract

Background: Despite the MMSE's known flaws, it is still used extensively as both a screening instrument for dementia and a population measure of cognitive ability. The aim of this paper is to provide data on the distribution of MMSE scores in a representative sample from the UK population and to compare it with an extended cognitive assessment (EMSE) which covers a wider range of cognitive domains and provides a wider range of difficulty levels.

Methods: The MMSE and the EMSE were administered to over 12,000 participants at the screening stage of the MRC Cognitive Function and Ageing Study (MRC CFAS). MRC CFAS is a multi-centre population-based study in England and Wales with respondents aged 65 years and older.

Results: Normative values on the MMSE and EMSE are presented by age group, sex and level of education. There are very large differences between age groups, with smaller differences seen between the sexes and by level of education. The EMSE extends the scores at the high end of the ability range, but is no better than the MMSE at differentiating between dementia and non-dementia.

Conclusion: Population-derived norms are valuable for comparing an individual's score to the score that would be expected among the general population, given the individual's specific demographic characteristics.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
MMSE scores in the demented and the non-demented
Figure 2
Figure 2
EMSE scores in the demented and non-demented
Figure 3
Figure 3
Joint relationship between top entries on the MMSE and extra items of the EMSE scale
Figure 4
Figure 4
Percentiles for the MMSE and EMSE by age
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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