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Mini-Mental State Examination in Elderly Chinese: A Population-Based Normative Study
Li H, Jia J, Yang Z.. Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD, 2016-05-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Background Chinese nationwide norms of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) have not been established despite its wide use. Objective To obtain norms for the MMSE based on age, gender, education, and rural or urban residences and to determine the optimal cut-off points of the MMSE in elderly Chinese. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in Chinese community residents aged 65 years or over selected by cluster random sampling. The MMSE was administered to 9,629 subjects (7,110 cognitively normal, 2,024 with mild cognitive impairment, and 495 with dementia). The demographic influences on MMSE scores were investigated and the norms were established considering those factors. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to determine the optimal cut-off points. Results Years of education (standardized β= 0.399), rural residence (standardized β= -0.261), age (standardized β= -0.198), and being female (standardized β= -0.101) had significant effects on MMSE scores (p Conclusion We provide the age-, gender-, education-, and residence-specific reference norms for the MMSE derived from an investigation of a large-scale, multicenter, nationwide representative Chinese elderly population. It could be of great improvement for the use of the MMSE in dementia screening in Chinese elderly population.
Key findings
- Results Years of education (standardized β= 0.399), rural residence (standardized β= -0.261), age (standardized β= -0.198), and being female (standardized β= -0.101) had significant effects on MMSE scores (p < 0.001).
Why it matters
This large Chinese study produced age-, gender-, education- and residence-specific norms for the Mini-Mental State Examination to improve dementia screening. It is about test scoring and diagnosis, not about treating, curing or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Study designcross-sectional
- Participants9,629
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 56/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a snapshot of people at one point in time. Scored zero for 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 Alzheimer's disease : JAD) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Journal of Alzheimer s Disease: journal h-index 218 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 4 / 12 | A snapshot of people at one point in time |
| 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 | 3 / 4 | 9,629 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 | 6 / 7 | Cited 559 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 46.6 citations a year over 12 year(s) since 2016 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 8.0× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 5 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 4 / 4 | Cited 262 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 1 / 4 | Last-listed author Zhiqiang Yang: h-index 12 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 0 / 3 | Capital Medical University: institution h-index 643 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 27163822) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 56 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
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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
Li, H., Jia, J., & Yang, Z. (2016). Mini-Mental State Examination in Elderly Chinese: A Population-Based Normative Study. Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD. https://doi.org/10.3233/jad-160119
Vancouver
Li H, Jia J, Yang Z. Mini-Mental State Examination in Elderly Chinese: A Population-Based Normative Study. Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD. 2016. doi:10.3233/jad-160119. PMID: 27163822.
BibTeX
@article{li2016-27163822,
author = {Li, H. and Jia, J. and Yang, Z.},
title = {{Mini-Mental State Examination in Elderly Chinese: A Population-Based Normative Study}},
journal = {Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD},
year = {2016},
doi = {10.3233/jad-160119},
pmid = {27163822},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3233/jad-160119}
}
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