Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsMMSE ScoringHow It WorksMMSE AccuracyThe MMSE 2Pros and Cons
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
MMSE Scoring
How It Works
MMSE Accuracy
The MMSE 2
Pros and Cons
The Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) is a brief, structured test of mental status that takes about 10 minutes to complete.
Learn what the test involves, as well as how to score it and how accurate it is in identifyingdementia.
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What Does MMSE Scoring Mean?
Scores on the MMSE range from 0 to 30, with scores of 25 or higher being traditionally considered normal. Scores less than 10 generally indicate severe impairment, while scores between 10 and 20 indicate moderate dementia. People with early stage Alzheimer’s disease tend to score in the 20 to 25 range.
Scores typically decline with advancing age and increase with higher educational level.It’s possible to achieve a very high score but still have significant cognitive deficits, especially in areas such asexecutive functioningthat the MMSE is not designed to assess.
How Does the MMSE Work?
The Mini-Mental State Examination involves 11 questions that check for thinking, communication, understanding, and memory impairments. Specifically, the MMSE assesses six areas of mental abilities:
There is no need to prepare for the MMSE if you have been asked to take it. The MMSE is generally administered in a healthcare provider’s office and takes about 10 minutes to complete.
How Accurate Is the MMSE?
There are two primary uses of the MMSE. First, it is a widely used, validated, and reliable method of screening forAlzheimer’s disease. As a screening test, however, it is not meant to substitute for a thoroughdiagnostic workup.
Sensitivity and specificity of the MMSE, key properties of every screening test, are reasonably good.
Sensitivityrefers to the test’s accuracy in identifying individuals with the disease (i.e., persons with Alzheimer’s test as positive).Specificityrefers to the test’s effectiveness in identifying people who do not have the disease (i.e., persons without the disease test as negative).
The second important use of the MMSE is as a means of evaluating cognitive changes in an individual over time.
Periodic testing with the MMSE can help assess a person’s response to treatment, which can help guide future treatment.
In 2010, the MMSE 2 was published. It includes many of the same tasks as the MMSE but updates a few of the original tasks to improve accuracy and ease of translation into other languages.
Pros and Cons of the MMSE
Disadvantages include the need to adjust scores for age, education, and ethnicity, as well as potential copyright issues.
While originally the MMSE was widely distributed for free, the current official version must be ordered through the copyright owner since 2001, Psychological Assessment Resources.
Summary
The MMSE is one of the most commonly used screening tests that evaluates thinking, communication, comprehension, and memory proficiency. Results come in the form of a score that ranges from 30, which is considered normal cognition, to 0, which indicates severe cognitive impairments and potentially late-stage dementia.
If you receive results from this test that concern you, don’t hesitate to ask your physician questions about what they mean, as well as if they have evaluated for any possible reversible causes of dementia. Finally, the MMSE should be combined with several other screening and medical tests if it is being used to diagnose dementia.
12 Things to Ask the Healthcare Provider After a Dementia Diagnosis
7 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Eftychios A, Nektarios S, Nikoleta G.Alzheimer disease and music-therapy: An interesting therapeutic challenge and proposal.Adv Alzheimer’s Dis. 2021 Mar;10(1):1-18. doi:10.4236/aad.2021.101001Pradier C, Sakarovitch C, Le duff F, et al.The mini mental state examination at the time of Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders diagnosis, according to age, education, gender and place of residence: a cross-sectional study among the French National Alzheimer database.PLoS ONE. 2014;9(8):e103630. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0103630Arevalo-rodriguez I, Smailagic N, Roqué i figuls M, et al.Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) for the detection of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias in people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015;(3):CD010783. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD010783.pub2Philipps V, Amieva H, Andrieu S, et al.Normalized Mini-Mental State Examination for assessing cognitive change in population-based brain aging studies.Neuroepidemiology. 2014;43(1):15-25. doi:10.1159/000365637Behl P, Edwards JD, Kiss A, et al.Treatment effects in multiple cognitive domains in Alzheimer’s disease: a two-year cohort study.Alzheimers Res Ther. 2014;6(4):48. doi:10.1186/alzrt280Albert SM.MMSE 2.0: a new approach to an old measure.Neuroepidemiology. 2014;43(1):26-7. doi:10.1159/000366428MMSE-2.Psychological Assessment Resources.
7 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Eftychios A, Nektarios S, Nikoleta G.Alzheimer disease and music-therapy: An interesting therapeutic challenge and proposal.Adv Alzheimer’s Dis. 2021 Mar;10(1):1-18. doi:10.4236/aad.2021.101001Pradier C, Sakarovitch C, Le duff F, et al.The mini mental state examination at the time of Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders diagnosis, according to age, education, gender and place of residence: a cross-sectional study among the French National Alzheimer database.PLoS ONE. 2014;9(8):e103630. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0103630Arevalo-rodriguez I, Smailagic N, Roqué i figuls M, et al.Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) for the detection of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias in people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015;(3):CD010783. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD010783.pub2Philipps V, Amieva H, Andrieu S, et al.Normalized Mini-Mental State Examination for assessing cognitive change in population-based brain aging studies.Neuroepidemiology. 2014;43(1):15-25. doi:10.1159/000365637Behl P, Edwards JD, Kiss A, et al.Treatment effects in multiple cognitive domains in Alzheimer’s disease: a two-year cohort study.Alzheimers Res Ther. 2014;6(4):48. doi:10.1186/alzrt280Albert SM.MMSE 2.0: a new approach to an old measure.Neuroepidemiology. 2014;43(1):26-7. doi:10.1159/000366428MMSE-2.Psychological Assessment Resources.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Eftychios A, Nektarios S, Nikoleta G.Alzheimer disease and music-therapy: An interesting therapeutic challenge and proposal.Adv Alzheimer’s Dis. 2021 Mar;10(1):1-18. doi:10.4236/aad.2021.101001Pradier C, Sakarovitch C, Le duff F, et al.The mini mental state examination at the time of Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders diagnosis, according to age, education, gender and place of residence: a cross-sectional study among the French National Alzheimer database.PLoS ONE. 2014;9(8):e103630. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0103630Arevalo-rodriguez I, Smailagic N, Roqué i figuls M, et al.Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) for the detection of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias in people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015;(3):CD010783. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD010783.pub2Philipps V, Amieva H, Andrieu S, et al.Normalized Mini-Mental State Examination for assessing cognitive change in population-based brain aging studies.Neuroepidemiology. 2014;43(1):15-25. doi:10.1159/000365637Behl P, Edwards JD, Kiss A, et al.Treatment effects in multiple cognitive domains in Alzheimer’s disease: a two-year cohort study.Alzheimers Res Ther. 2014;6(4):48. doi:10.1186/alzrt280Albert SM.MMSE 2.0: a new approach to an old measure.Neuroepidemiology. 2014;43(1):26-7. doi:10.1159/000366428MMSE-2.Psychological Assessment Resources.
Eftychios A, Nektarios S, Nikoleta G.Alzheimer disease and music-therapy: An interesting therapeutic challenge and proposal.Adv Alzheimer’s Dis. 2021 Mar;10(1):1-18. doi:10.4236/aad.2021.101001
Pradier C, Sakarovitch C, Le duff F, et al.The mini mental state examination at the time of Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders diagnosis, according to age, education, gender and place of residence: a cross-sectional study among the French National Alzheimer database.PLoS ONE. 2014;9(8):e103630. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0103630
Arevalo-rodriguez I, Smailagic N, Roqué i figuls M, et al.Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) for the detection of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias in people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015;(3):CD010783. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD010783.pub2
Philipps V, Amieva H, Andrieu S, et al.Normalized Mini-Mental State Examination for assessing cognitive change in population-based brain aging studies.Neuroepidemiology. 2014;43(1):15-25. doi:10.1159/000365637
Behl P, Edwards JD, Kiss A, et al.Treatment effects in multiple cognitive domains in Alzheimer’s disease: a two-year cohort study.Alzheimers Res Ther. 2014;6(4):48. doi:10.1186/alzrt280
Albert SM.MMSE 2.0: a new approach to an old measure.Neuroepidemiology. 2014;43(1):26-7. doi:10.1159/000366428
MMSE-2.Psychological Assessment Resources.
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