Utility of the SLUMS as a Cognitive Screening Tool Among a Nonveteran Sample of Older Adults

• Published in: The American journal of geriatric psychiatry 2013-07, Vol.21 (7), p.623-630
• Main Authors: Feliciano, Leilani, Ph.D, Horning, Sheena M., Ph.D, Klebe, Kelli J., Ph.D, Anderson, Sarah L., M.A, Cornwell, R. Elisabeth, Ph.D, Davis, Hasker P., Ph.D
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Cognition Disorders - diagnosis; Cognitive screening; Executive Function; Female; Humans; Internal Medicine; Male; Mass Screening; Mental Status Schedule; Middle Aged; MMSE; older adults; Psychometrics; Reproducibility of Results; SLUMS; Trail Making Test
• ISSN: 1064-7481; 1545-7214
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jagp.2013.01.024

Objectives To investigate the concurrent validity of the Saint Louis University Mental Status examination (SLUMS) by comparing the ability of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the SLUMS to predict performance on standard neuropsychological measures of memory and executive functioning. Design Cross-sectional. Setting University-based research clinic. Participants Community-dwelling adults (N = 170) age 60 years and older (Mage  = 73.08; SD = 8.18). Measurements The Trail Making Test (TMT), Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), MMSE, and SLUMS. Results The distributional properties of the SLUMS and the MMSE were directly compared. The SLUMS showed statistically a smaller mean, lower rank scores, and less skewness than the MMSE. Comparisons of the correlations of the screening tests with the neuropsychological measures indicated that the SLUMS demonstrated stronger relationships with the TMT compared with the MMSE. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to determine the ability of the SLUMS and the MMSE to predict scores on common neuropsychological tests after controlling for demographic variables. Results demonstrated that the SLUMS significantly predicted performance across all measures over the MMSE and demographic variables, with the exception of the WCST's perseverative errors. However, the MMSE does not add to the prediction of neuropsychological functioning over the SLUMS. Conclusion Although the SLUMS and the MMSE are strongly correlated, the SLUMS significantly adds to the prediction of neuropsychological measures beyond the MMSE scores. Our findings suggest that the SLUMS may be an appropriate measure to use as a screening tool among older adults and may have fewer ceiling effects than the MMSE.