OBJECTIVES We describe and compare the expected performance trajectories of older adults on the Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE) across six independent studies from four countries in the context of a collaborative network of longitudinal studies of aging. A coordinated analysis approach is used to compare patterns of change conditional on sample composition differences related to age, sex,...

The aging of the population is a universal phenomenon with direct consequences upon the public health system. One of the main repercussions of the growth in this sector of the population is the increased prevalence of disorders such as dementia and depression which are very frequent among the elderly. The relationship between cardiovascular risk factors, dementia and depression have been addres...

BACKGROUND It is often difficult to differentiate between the depressive states seen in late-life depression and late-onset Alzheimer' disease (AD) in the clinical setting. METHODS Thirty-four outpatients were recruited, all fulfilling the criteria of aged 65 years or above, scores of 14 or more on the Hamilton depression rating scale (HAM-D), and 26 or less on the Mini-Mental State Examinati...

Clock drawing is a quick, easy to remember test that is well received by patients. It is a good screening test for Alzheimer's disease in the outpatient setting. We evaluated its usefulness compared with the standard Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) in elderly acute medical and surgical hospital admissions. Within 48 hours of admission, 117 patients over 70 years old were administered the M...

BACKGROUND Practice effects are improvements in cognitive test performance associated with repeated administrations of same or similar measures and are traditionally seen as error variance. However, there is growing evidence that practice effects provide clinically useful information. METHODS Within-session practice effects (WISPE) across 2 h were collected from 61 non-consecutive patients re...

BACKGROUND The EQ-5D is a reliable tool for measuring Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL). However, concern has been expressed that it may ignore elements of HRQoL, particularly cognition. In response to this concern, the EQ-5D has been extended with a cognitive dimension (EQ-5D+C). The aim of this study was to compare the performance of the EQ-5D and the EQ-5D+C in elderly patients with cog...

The sensitivity of the Mini Mental State Evaluation (MMSE) in severely impaired patients is reduced by a floor effect and limited score range. The Severe Impairment Battery (SIB) and Preliminary Neuropsychological Battery (BNP) may be valid alternatives. We studied a group of 37 severely compromised elderly inpatients to investigate the usefulness of these two test batteries as alternatives to ...

BACKGROUND Residential status has been linked to numerous determinants of health and well-being. However, the influence of residential status on cognitive decline remains unclear. The purpose of this research was to assess the changes of cognitive function among older adults with different residential status (urban residents, rural-to-urban residents, rural residents, and urban-to-rural residen...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Persons with cognitive impairment, as assessed by cognitive tests, are at a higher risk of stroke. Subjective memory complaints might be an earlier marker for stroke, especially in persons with higher education. Their cognitive reserve might mask their cognitive impairment during cognitive testing. In a population-based setting, we investigated the association between sub...

OBJECTIVE To explore the influence of level of functioning and cognitive status on outcome after rehabilitation for older people with different types of impairment. DESIGN An inception cohort study. SUBJECTS A total of 560 older people, mean age 80.0 years, participating in rehabilitation programmes in the Sydney area. METHODS Level of functioning using the Functional Independence Measure...