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The Mini-Mental State Examination in the early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease
Galasko D, Klauber MR, Hofstetter CR, Salmon DP, Lasker B, Thal LJ.. Archives of neurology, 1990-01-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), a brief test of cognitive function, has been widely used to screen for dementia. We administered the MMSE to 74 community-dwelling patients meeting criteria for probable Alzheimer's disease (AD) and 74 age- and education-matched controls. Twenty-four patients with AD performed in the nondemented range by scoring above the recommended cutoff point of 23 of a possible 30 on the MMSE.
Key findings
- We administered the MMSE to 74 community-dwelling patients meeting criteria for probable Alzheimer's disease (AD) and 74 age- and education-matched controls.
- Twenty-four patients with AD performed in the nondemented range by scoring above the recommended cutoff point of 23 of a possible 30 on the MMSE.
- We compared the scores for items of the MMSE in controls and subjects with AD and used logistic regression to model a shorter MMSE that retained the accuracy of the complete test.
- A score summing tests of recall and orientation for place had similar sensitivity to the full MMSE.
Why it matters
This study examined the Mini-Mental State Examination in the early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and found that some patients with AD scored above the recommended cutoff. It is a diagnostic accuracy study and provides no information on treating, curing or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 47/100
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 (Archives of neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Archives of Neurology: journal h-index 353 (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 | 1990 — 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 | 6 / 7 | Cited 339 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 8.9 citations a year over 38 year(s) since 1990 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 11.1× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 19 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 19 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Leon J. Thal: h-index 64 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University of California San Diego: institution h-index 1,852 (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 2294894) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 47 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
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
Galasko, D., Klauber, M. R., Hofstetter, C. R., Salmon, D. P., Lasker, B., & Thal, L. J. (1990). The Mini-Mental State Examination in the early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. Archives of neurology. https://doi.org/10.1001/archneur.1990.00530010061020
Vancouver
Galasko D, Klauber MR, Hofstetter CR, Salmon DP, Lasker B, Thal LJ. The Mini-Mental State Examination in the early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. Archives of neurology. 1990. doi:10.1001/archneur.1990.00530010061020. PMID: 2294894.
BibTeX
@article{galasko1990-2294894,
author = {Galasko, D. and Klauber, M. R. and Hofstetter, C. R. and Salmon, D. P. and Lasker, B. and Thal, L. J.},
title = {{The Mini-Mental State Examination in the early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {Archives of neurology},
year = {1990},
doi = {10.1001/archneur.1990.00530010061020},
pmid = {2294894},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1001/archneur.1990.00530010061020}
}
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