Home › Research › Cognitive tests and assessment
Brief screening tests for dementia
Lorentz WJ, Scanlan JM, Borson S.. Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie, 2002-10-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Objective To compare brief dementia screening tests as candidates for routine use in primary care practice. Method We selected screening tests that met 2 criteria: 1) administration time of 10 minutes or less in studies including individuals with, and without, dementia; and 2) performance characteristics evaluated in at least 1 community or clinical sample of older adults. We compared tests for face validity, sensitivity, and specificity in a clearly defined subject sample; for vulnerability to sociodemographic biases unrelated to dementia; for direct comparison with an accepted standard; for acceptability to patients and doctors; and for brevity and ease of administration, scoring, and interpretation by nonspecialists.
Key findings
- Method We selected screening tests that met 2 criteria: 1) administration time of 10 minutes or less in studies including individuals with, and without, dementia; and 2) performance characteristics evaluated in at least 1 community or clinical sample of older adults.
- We compared tests for face validity, sensitivity, and specificity in a clearly defined subject sample; for vulnerability to sociodemographic biases unrelated to dementia; for direct comparison with an accepted standard; for acceptability to patients and doctors; and for brevity and ease of administration, scoring, and interpretation by nonspecialists.
- Results Thirteen instruments met our inclusion criteria.
- Very short tests (1 minute or less) proved unacceptable by several criteria.
Why it matters
This review compared brief screening tests for dementia that take 10 minutes or less and have been evaluated in older adults. It does not test any treatment, so it offers no information about curing or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 44/100
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 (Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry: journal h-index 184 (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 | 2002 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| 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 | 5 / 7 | Cited 239 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 9.2 citations a year over 26 year(s) since 2002 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 4.9× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 9 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 20 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Soo Borson: h-index 56 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 3 / 3 | University of Washington: institution h-index 3,540 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 12420650) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 44 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1177/070674370204700803
- PubMed: 12420650
- Original source →
- Free full text: The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
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
Lorentz, W. J., Scanlan, J. M., & Borson, S. (2002). Brief screening tests for dementia. Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie. https://doi.org/10.1177/070674370204700803
Vancouver
Lorentz WJ, Scanlan JM, Borson S. Brief screening tests for dementia. Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie. 2002. doi:10.1177/070674370204700803. PMID: 12420650.
BibTeX
@article{lorentz2002-12420650,
author = {Lorentz, W. J. and Scanlan, J. M. and Borson, S.},
title = {{Brief screening tests for dementia}},
journal = {Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie},
year = {2002},
doi = {10.1177/070674370204700803},
pmid = {12420650},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1177/070674370204700803}
}
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here. Showing 12 of 21.
Later studies that cite this one
9 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references. Showing the 8 highest-scoring.
Related studies in Cognitive tests and assessment
Also tagged “prevalence”
1,224 studies in the library carry the topic tag “prevalence”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 1,224 tagged studies.