The Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) is the most widely used screening tool for dementia in the United States. This brief cognitive assessment instrument was originally developed, validated, and reported by Folstein and others in 1975 for the bedside diagnosis of dementia. It consists of the following parts: (1) orientation questions, five each for time and place (10 points); (2) three‐word registration and 1‐min recall (3 points each); (3) attention and calculation, assessed either by (a) serial subtraction of 7 from 100 or by (b) spelling “WORLD” backwards (5 points); (4) language, assessed by a three‐stage command, repetition, naming, reading comprehension, and writing (8 points); and (5) copying two intersecting pentagons (1 point). The maximum score is 30, which is normal. Scores of less than 24 are indicative of dementia. The test–retest and interrater reliability, internal consistency, and external validity of the MMSE are high. MMSE is administered by psychologists,...
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Suggested Readings
Boustani M, Peterson B, Hanson L, Harris R, Lohr K (2003) Screening for dementia in primary care: A summary of the evidence for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Ann Int Med 138:927–937. (The full report is found on the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality website www.ahrq.gov/clinic/serfiles.htm, accessed November, 2005)
Clark CM, Sheppard L, Fillenbaum GG, Galasko D, Morris JC, Koss E, Mohs R, Heyman A, and the CERAD Investigators (1999) Variability in annual Mini‐Mental State Examination score in patients with probable Alzheimer disease: A clinical perspective of data from the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's disease. Arch Neurol 56:857–862
Crum RM, Anthony JC, Bassett SS, Folstein MF (1993) Population‐based norms for the mini‐mental state examination by age and educational level. JAMA 18:2386–2391
Folstein MF, Folstein SE, McHugh PR (1975) “Mini‐mental state”. A practical method for grading the cognitive state of patients for the clinician. J Psychiatr Res 12:189–198
McDowell I, Kristjansson B, Hill GB, Hebert R (1997) Community screening for dementia: The Mini Mental State Exam (MMSE) and Modified Mini‐Mental State Exam (3MS) compared. J Clin Epidemiol 50:377–383
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2008 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this entry
Cite this entry
Thakore, N.J. (2008). Mini Mental State Examination. In: Loue, S.J., Sajatovic, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Aging and Public Health. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-33754-8_302
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-33754-8_302
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-0-387-33753-1
Online ISBN: 978-0-387-33754-8
eBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine