Diagnostic accuracy of the Warsaw Cognitive Assessment Scale for detecting mild cognitive impairment and dementia: a comparison with the Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination III and the Mini-Mental State Examination

AIM OF THE STUDY: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the Warsaw Cognitive Assessment Scale (Warszawska Skala Oceny Poznawczej, WSOP) for detecting mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia, and to compare its performance with the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination III (ACE-III) and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). CLINICAL RATIONALE FOR THE STUDY: Early detection of cognitive impairment remains challenging in clinical practice. Existing screening tools are limited by administration time, sensitivity to early deficits, and reliance on auditory input. The WSOP was developed as a brief, multidomain screening instrument tailored to the Polish population, aiming to balance diagnostic accuracy with clinical efficiency. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 370 participants (111 Controls, 138 with MCI, 121 with mild dementia) were assessed using WSOP, ACE-III, and MMSE. Group differences were analyzed using non-parametric tests, and convergent validity was evaluated with Spearman's correlations. Diagnostic accuracy was assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, including area under the curve (AUC), sensitivity, specificity, and optimal cut-off values. Additional analyses controlled for age, education, and sex. RESULTS: WSOP demonstrated high diagnostic accuracy comparable to ACE-III. For distinguishing Controls from MCI, AUC values were 0.945 (WSOP) and 0.951 (ACE-III), both exceeding MMSE (0.80). For MCI versus dementia, AUC values were 0.943 and 0.964, respectively. The optimal WSOP cut-offs were 67.5 for MCI and 53.5 for dementia. Diagnostic performance remained stable after adjusting for demographic variables. WSOP scores showed moderate to strong correlations with ACE-III, providing initial evidence of convergent validity. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: WSOP is a brief, reliable multidomain cognitive screening tool with diagnostic accuracy comparable to ACE-III. Its balance of comprehensiveness and efficiency supports its potential use in clinical screening settings, pending further validation in broader populations.