REFERENCE VALUES FOR THE MINI-MENTAL-STATE-EXAMINATION (MMSE) IN OCTOGENARIANS AND NONAGENARIANS

The Mini‐Mental State Examination (MMSE) was used in a population survey of all inhabitants of Leiden, the Netherlands, over 85 years (n = 1258). In this paper we report on 532 subjects without neurological or psychiatric disease. Results show that the median score and lowest quartile cut‐off score remain high until the tenth decade (median score = 28, lowest quartile cut‐off score = 26). Thus age, in itself, is not a major limitation in using the MMSE. In this study a comparatively low level of education (the majority had 6 to 7 years of education) did not affect the results on the MMSE in a negative way, nor did we find an association with the use of psychoactive drugs. © 1990 The American Geriatrics Society