Evaluation of Mini-Mental State Examination scores according to different age and education strata, and sex, in a large Brazilian healthy sample

Abstract

Until better measures have been accepted for wider use, the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) will continue to be utilized. In this context, knowledge on characteristics and determinants of its distribution for the Brazilian population are particularly valuable. The present study aimed to evaluate, based on multivariate analysis, the independent effect of age, educational level and sex, and their interactions, on MMSE scores in a healthy sample.MethodsDemographic data and scores on the MMSE of 1,553 healthy individuals were analyzed. The sample was grouped according to age and education.ResultsThe sample was composed of 963 females (62%), mean age ±SD was 49.6±20.7yrs (range 20 to 92 yrs). The mean years of education ±SD was 8.9±5.5yrs (range 0 to 28 yrs). The mean score ±SD on the MMSE was 27.3±2.7(range 15 to 30). A significant effect of the interaction between education and sex (p=0.011), and also between education and age was observed (p=0.003). An independent effect of education (p<0.001) and age (p<0.001) was found. Participants from the higher educated group presented higher MMSE scores than the other groups. Younger adults presented higher MMSE scores than the other age groups.ConclusionsWe observed an effect of education and age on MMSE scores. Younger individuals and higher educated participants presented higher scores.

The Prevalence of Cognitive Impairment among Older Adults in Jamaica

“…Our findings of variables predicting an association with cognitive impairment build upon previous work among older adults (13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29). In this study, self-reported hypertension was not a significant predictor of cognitive impairment.…”

“…Scores on MMSE are greatly influenced by age and education level (13)(14)(15). Cognitive impairment and dementia have been associated with rural dwellers (16), increased rates of hospitalization (17,18), increased risk for falls (19,20), increased prevalence of fear of falling (21,22), diabetes mellitus (23,24), depression (17,25), and dependence in activities of daily living [ADL] (26).…”

Normative Data for Healthy Middle-Aged and Elderly Performance on the Addenbrooke Cognitive Examination-Revised

“…[26][27][28][29][30] In the present study, we also found the ACE-R Verbal Fluency subscore to be dependent on both age and education. These effects have been reported in earlier research, with the greatest influence being education.…”

“…28,29 As mentioned, MMSE scores have also been significantly associated with age and education. 30 In their 2006 study, Mioshi et al 1 failed to find a significant interaction between age and performance on the ACE-R, possibly because of their small sample size (n = 63). However, Mathuranath et al 22 found a significant correlation between age and total scores on the original version (ACE) in their study of 488 healthy elderly people.…”

Qualitative analysis of the Clock Drawing Test by educational level and cognitive profile

“…Previous Brazilian studies 26,27,28 indicated that older participants tend to have worse performance on cognitive tasks. For instance, Kochhann et al 29 studied 963 women aged between 20 and 92 years, in order to assess the independent effect and interactions between age, gender and education on the MMSE and noted that education and age influenced the MMSE scores. It is possible that in the present study no significant age differences were found due to the limited variability in the distribution of age.…”