Validation of Brain Health Test-7 for Detecting Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment and Early Dementia

Abstract

Objectives: We intended to develop a simple dementia screening tool to help primary care physicians identify patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and early dementia. Methods: The brain health test-7 (BHT-7) was developed based on the original BHT study. Study patients aged 50 years and above with normal cognition, MCI, and dementia were recruited. All patients received evaluation with the BHT-7, mini-mental state examination (MMSE), Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA), and clinical dementia rating (CDR) for cognitive function. The performance of BHT-7 in identifying cognitive impairment was compared with that of MMSE and MoCA. Results: We enrolled 376 study participants. The mean BHT-7, MMSE, and MoCA scores showed significant differences among the three groups. Compared to MMSE and MoCA, the BHT-7 (sensitivity = 86%, specificity = 76%, area under curve = 88%) showed better sensitivity in differentiating MCI from the normal group, with a cutoff value of 17/18. The scores of the three tests were all affected by educational level. Conclusion: The BHT-7 is a simple and easy-to-use cognitive screening tool that may be useful in primary care settings to identify patients with MCI or early dementia.