A Study comparing Mini Mental State Examination and Mini Cognitive assessment as screening tool in assessing cognitive functioning in Elderly

ObjectiveThis study was undertaken to compare Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Mini Cognitive Assessment (Mini cog) in assessing cognitive function in elderly patients aged above 65 years in out patient set up.Materials and MethodsThis cross sectional study was carried out in the Out Patient Department in a tertiary care center. 114 elderly patients aged above 65 years were included in this study over a period of six months. Data collected included age, sex, educational status. Cognitive status of patients were examined with mini cog and Mini Mental StateExamination .ResultIn this study Mini Mental State Examination ( MMSE ) was normal in 103 patients and 11 patients showed cognitive decline. Among these 103 patients who had a normal MMSE score ,70 (61.40 ) patients also scoredgood in mini- cog examination .Of the 11 patients with abnormal MMSE , 7 (63.63) patients scored abnormal in Mini cog also.Sensitivity of mini cog is 63.64 and specificity is 67.96 .ConclusionTo conclude, this study showsthatMini cog is an effective screening tool in Out- patient setup.