Philip St John1, Patrick Montgomery. 1. Section of Geriatrics, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. pstjohn@hsc.mb.ca
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: (1) To determine if subjective memory loss (SML) is associated with Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores, (2) to determine if this association persists after adjustment for other factors, and (3) to determine the sensitivity and specificity of SML for dementia. POPULATION: 1751 seniors sampled from a population registry. MEASURES: Age, sex, education, SML, the MMSE, and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression (CES-D) scale. Dementia was diagnosed by clinical examination. ANALYSIS: Linear regression models were constructed. The sensitivity and specificity of SML were determined with a diagnosis of dementia being the gold standard. RESULTS: SML was correlated with MMSE scores, even after adjusting for age, sex, education, and depressive symptoms. The sensitivity of SML was 0.58 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.45, 0.71), and the specificity was 0.76 (95% CI: 0.74, 0.78) for dementia. CONCLUSIONS: SML is correlated with MMSE score. However, SML is neither sensitive nor specific for dementia.
OBJECTIVES: (1) To determine if subjective memory loss (SML) is associated with Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores, (2) to determine if this association persists after adjustment for other factors, and (3) to determine the sensitivity and specificity of SML for dementia. POPULATION: 1751 seniors sampled from a population registry. MEASURES: Age, sex, education, SML, the MMSE, and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression (CES-D) scale. Dementia was diagnosed by clinical examination. ANALYSIS: Linear regression models were constructed. The sensitivity and specificity of SML were determined with a diagnosis of dementia being the gold standard. RESULTS: SML was correlated with MMSE scores, even after adjusting for age, sex, education, and depressive symptoms. The sensitivity of SML was 0.58 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.45, 0.71), and the specificity was 0.76 (95% CI: 0.74, 0.78) for dementia. CONCLUSIONS: SML is correlated with MMSE score. However, SML is neither sensitive nor specific for dementia.