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. 2021 Jul;43(4):306-311.
doi: 10.1177/0253717620961335. Epub 2020 Oct 21.

Cognitive Screening Tool for Geriatrics: A Retrospective Observational Study on the Correlation of the Scores in 30-Point Clock Face Test and MMSE

Noureddine Bouati  1 , Sabine Drevet  1   2   3 , Nabil Zerhouni  1 , Catherine Bioteau  2 , Nathalie Mitha  1 , Gaëtan Gavazzi  1   4
Affiliations

Cognitive Screening Tool for Geriatrics: A Retrospective Observational Study on the Correlation of the Scores in 30-Point Clock Face Test and MMSE

Noureddine Bouati et al. Indian J Psychol Med. 2021 Jul.

Abstract

Background: Over the past 30 years, the clock drawing test (CDT) has generated considerable interest due to its usefulness in the early detection of cognitive impairments, particularly those seen in neurodegenerative dementias (including Alzheimer's disease), vascular dementia, and mixed dementia. The present study aimed to determine whether the results of the "30-Point Clock Face Test" (CFT-30), a standardized version of the CDT that uses a 30-point scale, correlate with those of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE).

Methods: This is a retrospective, observational study. All patients hospitalized in a Hospital-University Clinic Geriatrics Unit (Grenoble Alpes University Hospital, Grenoble, France), from January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2018, were included. Patient data and scores were retrieved from hospital archives, and the results of the two tests of interest, MMSE and the CFT-30, were analyzed.

Results: We included 214 patients aged ≥75 years. The mean ± SD age was 86.4 ± 5.6 years, and 68.7% were female. A strongly positive, significant correlation was seen between the CFT-30 and MMSE (r = 0.73, P < 0.001) scores. The total scores obtained by these two tests were identical (t = 1.22, P = 0.22).

Conclusion: CFT-30 is a good complement to the tools usually used in the investigation of cognitive impairments in older people. In addition to its metrological qualities, the standardized and normalized CFT-30 is extremely simple and very fast to use.

Keywords: Assessment; clinical neuropsychology; cognitive impairments; dementia; test and measurement.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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