A Study of the Criterion Validity of the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale

Abstract

Criterion validity of the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale (MDRS) was evaluated with a concurrent study to obtain a cut-off score for an Argentinean population. A battery of several neuropsychological tests, including MDRS and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), was administered to 60 patients in a memory disorder clinic. The MDRS cut-off score was used as the criterion variable. A total score of 123 in MDRS was found to classify incorrectly only 8 of 60 patients. Sensitivity was 0.83, and specificity was 0.90. MDRS showed a high convergent validity with MMSE. Consistent with the cut-off scores suggested by Mattis in his manual, a total score of 123 was found to be the most appropriate for adoption in the local population.