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Correlates of Mini-Mental Status Examination scores among elderly demented patients: the influence of race-ethnicity
Bohnstedt M, Fox PJ, Kohatsu ND.. Journal of clinical epidemiology, 1994-12-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Data on 1888 patients seen at Alzheimer's Disease Diagnostic and Treatment Centers in California were used to examine possible differences in Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) results for different racial-ethnic groups. White patients had scores less indicative of dementia than Black and Hispanic patients using the standard 23 cutting point on the MMSE. However, there were no differences among these groups in the percentages clinically diagnosed as demented. The difference in the percentage of Whites vs Blacks and Hispanics categorized as demented by the MMSE was not accounted for by education, occupation, age, sex, or other variables tested, even though these variables were correlated with MMSE scores. Our data suggest that clinicians should consider MMSE scores for Black and Hispanic patients an underestimate of their cognitive capabilities relative to that of White patients.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Bohnstedt, M., Fox, P. J., & Kohatsu, N. D. (1994). Correlates of Mini-Mental Status Examination scores among elderly demented patients: the influence of race-ethnicity. Journal of clinical epidemiology. https://doi.org/10.1016/0895-4356(94)90082-5
Vancouver
Bohnstedt M, Fox PJ, Kohatsu ND. Correlates of Mini-Mental Status Examination scores among elderly demented patients: the influence of race-ethnicity. Journal of clinical epidemiology. 1994. doi:10.1016/0895-4356(94)90082-5. PMID: 7730847.
BibTeX
@article{bohnstedt1994-7730847,
author = {Bohnstedt, M. and Fox, P. J. and Kohatsu, N. D.},
title = {{Correlates of Mini-Mental Status Examination scores among elderly demented patients: the influence of race-ethnicity}},
journal = {Journal of clinical epidemiology},
year = {1994},
doi = {10.1016/0895-4356(94)90082-5},
pmid = {7730847},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/0895-4356(94)90082-5}
}
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Key findings
- Data on 1888 patients seen at Alzheimer's Disease Diagnostic and Treatment Centers in California were used to examine possible differences in Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) results for different racial-ethnic groups.
- Our data suggest that clinicians should consider MMSE scores for Black and Hispanic patients an underestimate of their cognitive capabilities relative to that of White patients.
Why it matters
This study found that Mini-Mental State Examination scores for Black and Hispanic patients appeared to underestimate their cognitive capabilities relative to white patients, even after accounting for education, occupation, age, and sex. This concerns how a screening test performs across racial-ethnic groups, not treatment, cure, or prevention.
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Study details
- Participants1,888
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 45/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of clinical epidemiology) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Journal of Clinical Epidemiology: journal h-index 339 (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 | 1994 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 3 / 4 | 1,888 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 102 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 3.0 citations a year over 34 year(s) since 1994 |
| Impact for its field and year | 1 / 6 | Cited 0.9× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 6 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 3 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 1 / 4 | Last-listed author Neal D. Kohatsu: h-index 18 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University of California, San Francisco: institution h-index 1,915 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 7730847) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 45 / 100 | — |
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