STUDY OF MINI-MENTAL STATE EXAM EVOLUTION IN COMMUNITY-DWELLING SUBJECTS AGED OVER 60 YEARS WITHOUT DEMENTIA

• Published in: The Journal of nutrition, health & aging health & aging, 2011-12, Vol.15 (10), p.901-904
• Main Authors: WATFA, G, HUSSON, N, BUATOIS, S, LAURAIN, M. C, MIGET, P, BENETOS, A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Affective Symptoms - diagnosis; Aged; Anxiety - diagnosis; Biological and medical sciences; Cognition; Cognition Disorders - diagnosis; Cognition Disorders - psychology; Dementia; Educational Status; Exercise; Feeding. Feeding behavior; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Geriatric Assessment - methods; Health Status; Humans; Interpersonal Relations; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Mass Screening; Mental Health; Mental Status Schedule - standards; Middle Aged; Multivariate Analysis; Nervous System Diseases - diagnosis; Reference Values; Reproducibility of Results; Stress, Psychological; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems
• ISSN: 1279-7707; 1760-4788
• DOI: 10.1007/s12603-011-0063-z

In recent years, the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) has been widely used and has been proposed for cognitive decline screening in the framework of a systematic geriatric evaluation in health centers. The aim of the present longitudinal study was to identify the potential determinants of MMSE score and its evolution over a 4-year period in a population aged over sixty years with good general health without dementia and consulting for a health check-up. Longitudinal study. The preventive medical center (CMP) in Nancy. 687 subjects over 60 years of age (mean age 65.6 ± 5.07 years) were included from the Senior health examination study. All subjects underwent 2 visits over a period of 4 years. MMSE measurement and a self-administered questionnaire of emotional and psychological state were evaluated at baseline and at the follow-up visit. The major components of total variance of baseline MMSE were represented by education level, practice of regular physical activity, nervousness and despair. Multivariate analysis identified 3 variables at baseline visit that independently predicted annual changes in MMSE: MMSE score, education level and "Difficulty in social relations" (r= -0.222, 0.154 and -0.255 respectively). Education level and several psychological factors may influence MMSE score and its evolution over time in community-dwelling subjects aged over 60 years without dementia. In these subjects, a low MMSE score does not predict cognitive decline over a period of 4 years. Therefore, the reliability of MMSE in this type of population is questionable.