Validating screening instruments for cognitive impairment in older South Asians in the United Kingdom

✍ Scribed by Greta Rait; Alistair Burns; Robert Baldwin; Michael Morley; Carolyn Chew-Graham; A. Selwyn St Leger

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2000
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 115 KB
• Volume: 15
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0885-6230
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1099-1166(200001)15:1<54::aid-gps77>3.0.co;2-c

✦ Synopsis

Background:

The numbers of older south asians in the united kingdom are rising. investigation of their mental health has been neglected compared to their physical health.

Objectives:

This study aimed to determine the sensitivity and specificity of modified versions of two screening instruments for cognitive impairment (mini-mental state examination and abbreviated mental test) in a community-based population.

Design:

Two-stage study comparing screening instruments against diagnostic interview.

Setting:

South, central and north manchester.

Subjects:

Community-resident south asians aged 60 years and over.

Methods:

Subjects were approached via their general practitioners and interviewed at home. sensitivity and specificity for the screening instruments were calculated using receiver operating characteristic (roc) curve analysis.

Results:

For the gujarati population, the mmse cutoff was >/=24 (sensitivity 100%, specificity 95%) and amt>/=6 (sensitivity 100%, specificity 95%). for the pakistani population, the mmse cutoff was >/=27 (sensitivity 100%, specificity 77%) and amt>/=7 (sensitivity 100%, specificity 87%).

Conclusions:

Culturally modified versions of the mini-mental state examination and abbreviated mental test are acceptable and may have a high degree of sensitivity. they may assist with the recognition of cognitive impairment, if an appropriate cutoff is used.