Brief Reports: PDF OnlyImproving Screening for Dementia in the Elderly Using Mini-Mental State Examination Subscores, Benton's Visual Retention Test, and Isaacs' Set TestCommenges, Daniel; Gagnon, Michèle; Letenneur, Luc; Dartigues, Jean François; Barberger-Gateau, Pascale; Salamon, RogerAuthor Information From INSERM Unité 330, Université de Bordeaux II, Bordeaux, France Epidemiology: March 1992 - Volume 3 - Issue 2 - p 185-188 Free Abstract The Mini-Mental State Examination score is often used as a screening test for dementia. We studied its properties for a population of French community residents, using a sample of 2,792 randomly selected subjects in Gironde, France. When the traditional cutoff point 23–24 was used, we observed a sensitivity of 1.0 and a specificity of 0.77. We sought to increase the specificity of the test, while keeping sensitivity at 1.0, with the use of logistic regression analysis. We found (1) a specificity of 0.81 when “recall three objects” and “orientation to time” were added to the Mini-Mental State Examination score; (2) a specificity of 0.90 when Benton's Visual Retention Test and Isaacs' Set Test of Verbal Fluency were added to the Mini-Mental State Examination score and subscores; and (3) no improvement in specificity when age and educational level were included in the analyses. (Epidemiology 1992;3:185–188) © Lippincott-Raven Publishers.
