PMID- 38300875
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20240226
LR  - 20240226
IS  - 1546-4156 (Electronic)
IS  - 0893-0341 (Linking)
VI  - 38
IP  - 1
DP  - 2024 Jan-Mar 01
TI  - Compassion Versus Accuracy: Lenient Scoring of the Spatial Orientation Items on 
      the Mini-mental State Exam Lowers Sensitivity.
PG  - 98-100
LID - 10.1097/WAD.0000000000000609 [doi]
AB  - The Mini-mental State Examination (MMSE) is a commonly used screening tool for 
      cognitive impairment. Lenient scoring of spatial orientation errors (SOEs) on the 
      MMSE is common and negatively affects its diagnostic utility. We examined the 
      effect of lenient SOE scoring on MMSE classification accuracy in a consecutive 
      case series of 103 older adults (age 60 or above) clinically referred for 
      neuropsychological evaluation. Lenient scoring of SOEs on the MMSE occurred in 53 
      (51.4%) patients and lowered the sensitivity by 7% to 18%, with variable gains in 
      specificity (0% to 11%) to psychometrically operationalized cognitive impairment. 
      Results are consistent with previous reports that lenient scoring is widespread 
      and attenuates the sensitivity of the MMSE. Given the higher clinical priority of 
      correctly detecting early cognitive decline over specificity, a warning against 
      lenient scoring of SOEs (on the MMSE and other screening tools) during medical 
      education and in clinical practice is warranted.
CI  - Copyright (c) 2024 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.
FAU - Kent, Katrina
AU  - Kent K
AD  - Schulich Medical School at Western University, London.
FAU - Adly Ibrahim, Nesrine
AU  - Adly Ibrahim N
AD  - Department of Psychology, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, Canada.
FAU - Romero, Kristoffer
AU  - Romero K
AD  - Department of Psychology, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, Canada.
FAU - Baker, Shannon
AU  - Baker S
AD  - Schulich Medical School at Western University, London.
FAU - Greenacre, Matthew
AU  - Greenacre M
AD  - Schulich Medical School at Western University, London.
FAU - Boucher, Chantal M
AU  - Boucher CM
AD  - Department of Psychology, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, Canada.
FAU - Roth, Robert M
AU  - Roth RM
AD  - Department of Psychiatry, Dartmouth Health, Lebanon, NH.
FAU - Erdodi, Laszlo A
AU  - Erdodi LA
AD  - Department of Psychology, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, Canada.
AD  - Star UBB Institute, Babes-Bolyai University, M. Kogalniceanu St 1, Cluj-Napoca, 
      Romania.
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
DEP - 20240129
PL  - United States
TA  - Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord
JT  - Alzheimer disease and associated disorders
JID - 8704771
SB  - IM
MH  - Humans
MH  - Aged
MH  - Middle Aged
MH  - *Orientation, Spatial
MH  - Sensitivity and Specificity
MH  - Empathy
MH  - *Cognitive Dysfunction/diagnosis
MH  - Neuropsychological Tests
COIS- The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
EDAT- 2024/02/01 18:41
MHDA- 2024/02/26 06:44
CRDT- 2024/02/01 13:13
PHST- 2023/11/16 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2024/01/01 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2024/02/26 06:44 [medline]
PHST- 2024/02/01 18:41 [pubmed]
PHST- 2024/02/01 13:13 [entrez]
AID - 00002093-990000000-00095 [pii]
AID - 10.1097/WAD.0000000000000609 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord. 2024 Jan-Mar 01;38(1):98-100. doi: 
      10.1097/WAD.0000000000000609. Epub 2024 Jan 29.