The Mini Mental State Examination at the Time of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Diagnosis, According to Age, Education, Gender and Place of Residence: A Cross-Sectional Study among the French National Alzheimer Database

Abstract

The aim of this studywas firstly to describe the MMSE (Mini-Mental State Examination) score upon initial diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders among the French population, according to age. Secondly, education, gender and place of residence were studied as factors potentially associated with delayed Alzheimer's disease diagnosis.Designwe conducted a cross sectional analysis of the French National Alzheimer database (BNA). Data from 2008 to 2012 were extracted. Patients were selected at the moment of their first diagnosis of AD (n = 39,451).ResultsThe MMSE score at initial diagnosis dropped significantly with increasing age. The test score increased with the degree of educational background regardless of age. Gender and place of residence were significantly related to the MMSE score, women and persons living in medical institutions having lower MMSE scores under the age of 90 years and at all educational levels.ConclusionsHealth care professionals should be aware of these risk factors in order to maximize chances of earliest possible diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders.

Distribution of Mini‐Mental State Examination scores among urban community‐dwelling older adults in Japan

“…This result is consistent with findings from a UK population-based study (Huppert et al, 2005). According to Pradier et al (2014), who examined MMSE scores on initial diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders among the French population (N = 39,451), women less than 90 years of age were diagnosed with a more advanced stage of cognitive decline than men. The poor performance on the MMSE among women in the oldest age group may therefore reflect potential cases of cognitive impairment or dementia.…”

“…The poor performance on the MMSE among women in the oldest age group may therefore reflect potential cases of cognitive impairment or dementia. According to Pradier et al (2014), who examined MMSE scores on initial diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders among the French population (N = 39,451), women less than 90 years of age were diagnosed with a more advanced stage of cognitive decline than men. It is possible that very old women living at home could have mildly impaired cognitive function, but relatively well maintained daily functioning.…”

Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test – accuracy for the differential diagnosis of Alzheimer's and neurodegenerative diseases: A large‐scale biomarker‐characterized monocenter cohort study (ClinAD)

“…Thus, homogenization of standardized cognitive testing and procedures of biomarker analyses represent an important challenge for the international community. One should also note that the mean age at symptom onset of the participants of this investigation (64.1 6 9.3 years) is also lower than the mean age of AD patients diagnosed in France [43], which reflects our center's referral nature for young onset AD and rare dementias. This discrepancy, however, appears to be a methodological advantage because at younger ages, the symptoms are likely to be disease specific and not the manifestation of comorbidity or mixed pathologies that hinder the discriminative power of cognitive tests such as the FCSRT.…”

Patients Who Attend Alone at a First Memory Consultation: Are They a Specific Population,or Is It an Instance of Confounding Bias?

“…Global cognitive function was assessed with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) as a screening test in accordance with the French National Alzheimer's database [11], and functional status was assessed using the short instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) checklist [12], focusing on 4 of the 8 IADLs best associated with cognitive performance: ability to use the telephone, transport, responsibility for own medication, and ability to handle finances. All patients underwent an assessment of their daily living needs using the Iso Resource Group (Groupe Iso Ressources [GIR]) scale, which in France corresponds to an overall assessment of disability in 6 categories (category 6 for those who are not dependent on others and category 1 for the most dependent).…”