The Ability of the Mini-Mental State Examination to Determine Cognitive Impairment in the Turkish Population: A Retrospective Study

A BSTRACT Objective: The study aimed to assess whether the mini-mental state examination (MMSE) is a useful screening tool for mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Materials and Methods The participants consisted of 75 MCI patients and 110 healthy controls (HC). Cognitive functions were examined using a traditional neuropsychological test battery. The revised Turkish version of the MMSE was used. Results: Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses showed that an MMSE cutoff of 28/29 (area under the curve = 0.86) discriminated MCI from HC with 83% sensitivity and 80% specificity. ANCOVA analyses showed that gender, education, and age did not significantly affect MMSE scores. Conclusion: The MMSE, while more sensitive and specific for detecting dementia, also provides reliable results for MCI. Additional screening tests adapted to language and culture should be developed as the gold standard for MCI.