Use of the Fuld Object-Memory Evaluation in the Detection of Mild Dementia Among Spanish and English-Speaking Groups

Abstract

It is increasingly important that assessments for dementia do not introduce bias against different cultural/language groups. In this study the authors investigated the usefulness of the Fuld Object-Memory Evaluation (OME) as a culture-fair screen for dementia. Because the OME uses common and familiar household objects, the authors hypothesized that it would retain minimal cultural/language bias, an issue that has been addressed in few other investigations. Results indicate that the OME has a high degree of sensitivity, 95.9%, for mildly impaired Spanish-speaking patients and 95.5% for English-speaking patients diagnosed with mild Alzheimer's disease. The specificity for Spanish-speaking and English-speaking control subjects was 100% and 96.7%, respectively. Sensitivities and specificities were reduced when only one trial of the OME was used. Sensitivity of the OME greatly exceeded that of the Folstein Mini-Mental State Exam in this mildly impaired dementia group. Therefore the OME may serve as a brief, reliable, culture-fair test when screening patients for possible dementia.