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Screening for cognitive impairment among older people in black and minority ethnic groups
Parker C, Philp I.. Age and ageing, 2004-06-24
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
There is a well-documented tendency for cognitive tests to underestimate the abilities of older people in black and minority ethnic groups. This gives rise to a substantially higher risk of mistaken diagnosis of dementia. Reasons include differences in extent or focus of formal education, lack of familiarity with English, lack of literacy in own first language, and culture-specific factors related to individual test items. Attempts to improve the accuracy of screening for these groups have included adaptation of existing tests, including adjustment of cut-points, translation and replacement of culture-specific items. So-called 'culture-free' tests have also been developed, which are less dependent on language, literacy and other skills developed during formal education. Cultural modifications and evidence of cross-cultural performance are summarized here for traditional tests (Mini-Mental State Examination, Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire, Short Orientation-Memory-Concentration Test, Abbreviated Mental Test Score, Clifton Assessment Procedures for the Elderly), and for culture-free tests (Clock Drawing Test, Mini-Cog, 7-minute screening battery, Time and Change Test). The evidence on unadapted traditional tests shows that short ones perform at least as well as longer ones, and are more consistent across cultural and educational groups. Cut-point adjustments have not been universally found successful in improving accuracy, and do not address issues of acceptability. Translated and/or culturally adapted versions exist for a number of tests: it is important to establish cut-points appropriate to the target populations. There are promising results on culture-free tests, which are seen as less threatening and require little language interpretation, but they require further evaluation.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Parker, C., & Philp, I. (2004). Screening for cognitive impairment among older people in black and minority ethnic groups. Age and ageing. https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afh135
Vancouver
Parker C, Philp I. Screening for cognitive impairment among older people in black and minority ethnic groups. Age and ageing. 2004. doi:10.1093/ageing/afh135. PMID: 15217776.
BibTeX
@article{parker2004-15217776,
author = {Parker, C. and Philp, I.},
title = {{Screening for cognitive impairment among older people in black and minority ethnic groups}},
journal = {Age and ageing},
year = {2004},
doi = {10.1093/ageing/afh135},
pmid = {15217776},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afh135}
}
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.
Key findings
- This gives rise to a substantially higher risk of mistaken diagnosis of dementia.
- There are promising results on culture-free tests, which are seen as less threatening and require little language interpretation, but they require further evaluation.
Why it matters
Standard cognitive tests tend to underestimate the abilities of older people in black and minority ethnic groups, raising the risk of mistaken dementia diagnosis, and adapted or culture-free tests may help. This is about improving screening accuracy, not about treating or curing dementia.
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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 (Age and ageing) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Age and Ageing: journal h-index 231 (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 | 2004 — 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 134 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 5.6 citations a year over 24 year(s) since 2004 |
| Impact for its field and year | 2 / 6 | Cited 2.3× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 4 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 11 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Ian Philp: h-index 26 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | University of Sheffield: institution h-index 1,017 (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 15217776) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 38 / 100 | — |
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