Efficacy of short mental tests in the detection of mental impairment in old age.

The usefulness, inter-rater reliability, and validity of six mental tests, the MMS, the GMS, the MSQ, the VRT, the OLT, and the DCT were studied in 81 patients over the age of 75 years. The patients were classified as being mentally impaired or unimpaired by psychogeriatric assessment. All tests had high reliability. The MMS, GMS, MSQ, and OLT were the most feasible and useful. The tests were validated by logistic regression analysis and the most efficient were the MMS, GMS, and OLT. Improvement was achieved when two or all three tests were used simultaneously. The three tests seem to be suitable tools for the detection of mental failure in patients of old age.