Utility of Mini‐Mental State Examination items to detect objective memory impairment in mild cognitive impairment

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundAlzheimer’s disease (AD) is the main cause of cognitive impairment in late‐life, and the typical early presentation of AD in older adults is amnestic cognitive impairment. Mini‐Mental State Examination (MMSE) is widely used in screening cognitive impairment in elderly. The aim of this study was to examine which MMSE items would be more associated with the verbal memory impairment in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).Method249 MCI subjects (mean age: 73.67 ± 6.79 years) were included in this study. The participants underwent clinical assessments and completed detailed neuropsychological tests. The participants were divided into two groups according to Seoul Verbal Learning Test Delayed Recall (SVLT DR) scores: normal verbal memory performance (SVLT DR > = ‐1.5 SD) vs low verbal memory performance (SVLT DR < ‐1.5 SD) groups. Group comparisons between normal and low verbal memory performance were performed. In addition, associations between verbal memory performance and MMSE items were analysed.ResultLow verbal memory performance group (n = 91) had more males and a tendency to be older and more educated than normal verbal memory performance group (n = 158). For MMSE items, low verbal memory performance group had lower MMSE time orientation and lower MMSE recall subscores, and a tendency of higher MMSE copy score than normal verbal memory performance group. Multivariable analyses showed that male sex, MMSE time orientation and MMSE recall scores were associated with lower verbal memory performance.ConclusionIn MCI individuals, male sex, and MMSE time orientation and recall subscores among demographics and MMSE items were associated with low verbral memory performance. These results suggest that more consideration for MMSE sub‐items would be helpful for the clinical evaluation of individuals with MCI at first step.