Open AccessAnalysis of the performance of adults and elderly people in the mini-mental state examination in Recife-PE
Author(s) -
Talita Gabriele de Queiroz Plácido,
Pedro Augusto Sampaio Rocha-Filho,
Mário Luciano de Mélo Silva Júnior
Publication year - 2021
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Conference proceedings
DOI - 10.5327/1516-3180.276
Subject(s) - test (biology) , standardization , gerontology , medicine , population , pearson product moment correlation coefficient , mini–mental state examination , cognition , descriptive statistics , psychology , demography , cognitive impairment , psychiatry , statistics , mathematics , computer science , environmental health , paleontology , sociology , biology , operating system
Background: The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) is the most widely used cognitive screening test in the world. However, there is no standardization as to the cutoff points to be used in Brazil, and the influence of education on performance is still under debate. Objectives: To analyze the performance of individuals in the MMSE, comparing the results according to different scoring criteria and correlating it with schooling. Design and setting: Cross-sectional, descriptive study with 18 individuals, from January to April 2021, in Recife, Pernambuco. Individuals over 40 years old, with schooling from 4 years on, were included. Methods: Data were analyzed using the SPSS software, Shapiro-Wilk test, and Pearson’s correlation coefficient (PCC). Results: The population is composed predominantly of women (89%), with an mean age of 56.3 years (SD = ± 8.58), education level of 12.4 (SD = ± 4.26) and an average score of 25.7 points (SD = ± 2.31). Performance was correlated with education (PCC = 0.589; P = 0.001). The fields with the highest prevalence of errors were the copy of the pentagons (61.1%), and the writing of the authorial sentence (44.4%). The percentage of individuals with cognitive decline varied according to the criteria used, ranging from 33.3% to 77%. Conclusions: Education is correlated with test performance. The variation in the prevalence of individuals who scored below the cutoff point shows that standardization of the assessment could minimize possible disparities