Cognitive screening test in primary care: cut points for low education

• Published in: Revista de saúde pública 2018-01, Vol.52, p.88-88
• Main Authors: Yokomizo, Juliana Emy, Seeher, Katrin, Oliveira, Glaucia Martins de, Silva, Laís Dos Santos Vinholi E, Saran, Laura, Brodaty, Henry, Aprahamian, Ivan, Yassuda, Monica Sanches, Bottino, Cássio Machado de Campos
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Brazil; Case-Control Studies; Cognition Disorders - diagnosis; Cognitive Dysfunction classification; Dementia, diagnosis; Educational Status; Female; Geriatric Psychiatry; Health Policy & Services; Humans; Male; Mass Screening; Mental Status and Dementia Tests; Original; Primary Health Care; Prospective Studies; Psychometrics; ROC Curve; Sensitivity and Specificity; Surveys and Questionnaires, utilization
• ISSN: 0034-8910; 1518-8787; 1518-8787
• DOI: 10.11606/S1518-8787.2018052000462

To establish the diagnostic accuracy of the Brazilian version of the General Practitioner Assessment of Cognition (GPCOG-Br) compared to the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) in individuals with low educational level. Ninety-three patients (≥ 60 years old) from Brazilian primary care units provided sociodemographic, cognitive, and functional data. Receiver operating characteristics, areas under the curve (AUC) and logistic regressions were conducted. Sixty-eight patients with 0-4 years of education. Cases (n = 44) were older (p = 0.006) and performed worse than controls (n = 49) on all cognitive or functional measures (p < 0.001). The GPCOG-Br demonstrated similar diagnostic accuracy to the MMSE (AUC = 0.90 and 0.91, respectively) and similar positive and negative predictive values (PPV/NPV, respectively: 0.79/0.86 for GPCOG-Br and 0.79/0.81 for MMSE). Adjusted cut-points displayed high sensitivity (all 86%) and satisfactory specificity (65%-80%). Lower educational level predicted lower cognitive performance. The GPCOG-Br is clinically well-suited for use in primary care.