The mini-cog: A cognitive 'vital signs' measure for dementia screening in multi-lingual elderly

Soo Borson, James Scanlan, Michael Brush, Peter Vitaliano, Ahmed Dokmak

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1322 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objectives. The Mini-Cog, a composite of three-item recall and clock drawing, was developed as a brief test for discriminating demented from non-demented persons in a community sample of culturally, linguistically, and educationally heterogeneous older adults. Subjects. All 129 who met criteria for probable dementia based on informant interviews and 120 with no history of cognitive decline were included; 124 were non-English speakers. Methods. Sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic value of the Mini-Cog were compared with those of the Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) and Cognitive Abilities Screening Instrument (CASI). Results. The Mini-Cog had the highest sensitivity (99%) and correctly classified the greatest percentage (96%) of subjects. Moreover, its diagnostic value was not influenced by education or language, while that of the CASI was adversely influenced by low education, and both education and language compromised the diagnostic value of the MMSE. Administration time for the Mini-Cog was 3 minutes vs 7 minutes for the MMSE. Conclusions. The Mini-Cog required minimal language interpretation and training to administer, and no test forms of scoring modifications were needed to compensate for the extensive linguistic and educational heterogeneity of the sample. Validation in clinical and population-based samples is warranted, as its brevity and ease of administration suggest that the Mini-Cog might be readily incorporated into general practice and senior care settings as a routine 'cognitive vital signs' measure. Copyright (C) 2000 John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1021-1027
Number of pages7
JournalInternational Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry
Volume15
Issue number11
DOIs
StatePublished - 2000

Keywords

  • Clock drawing
  • Cognitive Abilities Screening Instrument, CASI
  • Dementia screening
  • Education
  • Language
  • MMSE
  • Three-item recall

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