The Mini‐Mental State Examination

A Comprehensive Review

Bibliographic Data

ID23323927
AuthorsTom N Tombaugh (Carleton University), Nancy J McIntyre
Year1992
Volume40
Issue9
Pages922-935
Publication date1992-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of the American Geriatrics Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-8614 • E-ISSN: 1532-5415
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1532-5415.1992.tb01992.x
PMID1512391
OpenAlexW2109140840
LanguageEN
Citations received181
References cited139

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive review of information accumulated over the past 26 years regarding the psychometric properties and utility of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). PARTICIPANTS: The reviewed studies assessed a wide variety of subjects, ranging from cognitively intact community residents to those with severe cognitive impairment associated with various types of dementing illnesses. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The validity of the MMSE was compared against a variety of gold standards, including DSM-III-R and NINCDS-ADRDA criteria, clinical diagnoses, Activities of Daily Living measures, and other tests that putatively identify and measure cognitive impairment. RESULTS: Reliability and construct validity were judged to be satisfactory. Measures of criterion validity showed high levels of sensitivity for moderate-to-severe cognitive impairment and lower levels for mild degrees of impairment. Content analyses revealed the MMSE was highly verbal, and not all items were equally sensitive to cognitive impairment. Items measuring language were judged to be relatively easy and lacked utility for identifying mild language deficits. Overall, MMSE scores were affected by age, education, and cultural background, but not gender. CONCLUSIONS: In general, the MMSE fulfilled its original goal of providing a brief screening test that quantitatively assesses the severity of cognitive impairment and documents cognitive changes occurring over time. The MMSE should not, by itself, be used as a diagnostic tool to identify dementia. Suggestions for the clinical use of the MMSE are made.

Cognition · Cognitive impairment · Construct validity · Criterion validity · Dementia · Disease · Gold standard (test) · Medical diagnosis · Mini–Mental State Examination · Pathology · Psychiatry · Psychometrics · Reliability (semiconductor) · Clinical Psychology · Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research · Medicine · Schizophrenia research and treatment · Traumatic Brain Injury Research · Gerontology

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