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Assessment of Mental Status
Finney GR, Minagar A, Heilman KM.. Neurologic clinics, 2016-02-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Assessing the mental status of patients with a neurobehavioral disorder is a critical element in the diagnosis and treatment of these patients. This assessment should always be performed after the patient's history it taken and a general physical as well as a neurologic examination is completed. The mental status examination commences with observing the patient's appearance and level of consciousness. The examiner should also pay attention to patient's social behavior, emotional state and mood. There are 3 major means of assessing a patient's mental status. One type attempts to determine if the patient is demented and the severity of the dementia as it pertains to their ability to perform activities of daily living as well as instrumental activities. A second type of assessment utilizes what may be termed as "screening tests" or "omnibus tests". These brief tests are performed independent of the patient's history and examination. The two most frequently used screening tests are the Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE) and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). The third means of assessing a patient's mental status is by using specific neuropsychological tests that focus on specific domains of cognition, such as frontal executive functions, attention, episodic verbal and visuospatial memory, declarative knowledge such as language (speech, reading and writing) and arithmetical, as well as visuospatial and perceptual abilities. These neurobehavioral, neuropsychiatric and neuropsychological assessments of patients with a cognitive decline and behavioral abnormalities should often be accompanied by laboratory tests, and neuroimaging that can help determine the underlying pathologic process so that effective therapeutic and management approaches can be provided.
Key findings
- A second type of assessment utilizes what may be termed as "screening tests" or "omnibus tests".
- These brief tests are performed independent of the patient's history and examination.
- The two most frequently used screening tests are the Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE) and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA).
- The third means of assessing a patient's mental status is by using specific neuropsychological tests that focus on specific domains of cognition, such as frontal executive functions, attention, episodic verbal and visuospatial memory, declarative knowledge such as language (speech, reading and writing) and arithmetical, as well as visuospatial and perceptual abilities.
- These neurobehavioral, neuropsychiatric and neuropsychological assessments of patients with a cognitive decline and behavioral abnormalities should often be accompanied by laboratory tests, and neuroimaging that can help determine the underlying pathologic process so that effective therapeutic and management approaches can be provided.
Why it matters
This overview describes three major means of assessing mental status: determining dementia severity and its impact on daily activities, brief screening tests like the MMSE and MoCA, and specific neuropsychological tests for cognitive domains. It does not report any findings on treating, curing, or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 38/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Neurologic clinics) |
| Journal's citation record | 1 / 4 | Neurologic Clinics: journal h-index 132 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2016 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 4 / 7 | Cited 73 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 6.1 citations a year over 12 year(s) since 2016 |
| Impact for its field and year | 2 / 6 | Cited 2.9× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 19 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Kenneth M. Heilman: h-index 103 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | University of Florida: institution h-index 1,303 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 26613992) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 38 / 100 | — |
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Finney, G. R., Minagar, A., & Heilman, K. M. (2016). Assessment of Mental Status. Neurologic clinics. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ncl.2015.08.001
Vancouver
Finney GR, Minagar A, Heilman KM. Assessment of Mental Status. Neurologic clinics. 2016. doi:10.1016/j.ncl.2015.08.001. PMID: 26613992.
BibTeX
@article{finney2016-26613992,
author = {Finney, G. R. and Minagar, A. and Heilman, K. M.},
title = {{Assessment of Mental Status}},
journal = {Neurologic clinics},
year = {2016},
doi = {10.1016/j.ncl.2015.08.001},
pmid = {26613992},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ncl.2015.08.001}
}
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