Mini-Mental State Pediatric Examination (MMSPE) standardization and normative data on Italian children aged 36 to 72 months

Abstract

The MMSE (Mini-Mental State Examination), which is broadly used as a cognitive screening test for adults, has been successfully adapted and standardized for children of different nationalities. In the Italian clinical settings, the Mini-Mental State Pediatric Examination (MMSPE) is being more and more used as cognitive screening tool for children. However, the Italian norms for the MMSPE are available for the school age only. The current study was aimed at providing clinicians with the Italian normative data of the MMSPE for preschool age. Here, we therefore adapted the MMSE to the preschool age. The MMSPE for preschoolers assesses spatial and temporal orientation, verbal and visual memory, reading prerequisites, numerical knowledge, praxis, body representation, and executive functions through 16 items in a short period of time. It was administered to 305 Italian children aged 36 to 72 months. A Generalized Linear Model was fitted to explore predictors’ effects on the MMSPE total score. Raw scores were adjusted for critical variables (child’s age and parental mean education) and the 5th percentile cut-offs were obtained. With this study, we extended the Italian normative data of the MMSPE, formerly available for school age only, to preschool age population.