Sensitivity and specificity of standardized screens of cognitive impairment and dementia among elderly black and white community residents

doi:10.1016/0895-4356(90)90035-N

Journal of Clinical Epidemiology

Volume 43, Issue 7, 1990, Pages 651-660

https://doi.org/10.1016/0895-4356(90)90035-N Get rights and content

Abstract

Six standardized published measures of cognitive function were evaluated as screens of dementia in a sample of 164 (83 black, 81 white) community residents aged 65 and over selected from the Duke University EPESE (Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly), a biracial cohort of 4164 residents in a five county area of piedmont North Carolina. Of these 164 persons, 26 were subsequently diagnosed as demented. The weighted data from this sample represent the estimated performance of these measures among elderly blacks and whites in a five county area.

The 6 measures evaluated in this study (specificity figures for blacks precede those for whites) were (1) Orientation-Memory-Concentration Test (38%, 79%), (2) Mental Status Questionnaire (71%, 96%), (3) Mini-Mental State (58%, 94%), (4) Storandt et al. Battery (42%, 69%), (5) Iowa Battery (26%, 69%) and (6) Kendrick Cognitive Tests (92%, 97%). All but the Kendrick Cognitive Tests showed substantial sensitivity (90–100%) in detecting the presence of dementia. The specificity of the tests was particularly poor for blacks. The briefer, simpler measures tended to have greater accuracy than the longer and more complex measures. With rare exceptions, the scores obtained on these screens correlated with race and education.

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^☆: Presented as a poster at the 41st Annual Scientific Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America, San Francisco, 18–22 November 1988.

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Original articleSensitivity and specificity of standardized screens of cognitive impairment and dementia among elderly black and white community residents☆

Abstract

J Psychiat Res

The reliability of a survey psychiatric assessment schedule for the elderly

Br J Psychiat

Criteria for the diagnosis of dementia in community elderly

Gerontologist

A short portable mental status questionnaire for the assessment of organic brain deficit in elderly patients

J Am Geriatr Soc

A survey diagnostic tool for senile dementia

Am J Epidemiol

Brief objective measures for the determination of mental status in the aged

Am J Psychiat

Assessing the Elderly: A Practical Guide to Measurement

Validation of a short orientation-memory-concentration test of cognitive impairment