brand logo

CHRISTI STEWART, MD, FAAFP, FAAHPM, HMDC, JONATHAN STEWART, MD, FAAFP, SARAH STUBBS, MD, FAAFP, AND JOHN W. EPLING, MD, MSEd, FAAFP, Carilion Clinic and the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, Roanoke, Virginia

Am Fam Physician. 2022;105(6):590-592

 This clinical content conforms to AAFP criteria for CME.

Author disclosure: No relevant financial relationships.

Clinical Question

How well do four common, brief clinical assessments (Mini-Cog, Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly [IQCODE], Montreal Cognitive Assessment [MoCA], and Mini-Mental State Examination [MMSE]) predict dementia in primary care?

Evidence-Based Answer

There is insufficient evidence to support the accuracy of these tools to predict dementia in primary care.1–4 (Strength of Recommendation: A, systematic reviews of diagnostic test studies.)

Practice Pointers

Dementia causes difficulties with memory, language, and executive functioning that affect patients' abilities to perform activities of daily living. There are several different types of dementia, but Alzheimer disease is the most common. Dementia is estimated to affect 11% of Americans 65 years and older.5,6 Validated tools are needed to screen for dementia and memory problems to allow for further evaluation and intervention. Four Cochrane reviews examining the use of various outpatient cognitive screening tools were published in 2021.1–4 

Already a member/subscriber?  Log In

Subscribe

From $165
  • Immediate, unlimited access to all AFP content
  • More than 130 CME credits/year
  • AAFP app access
  • Print delivery available
Subscribe

Issue Access

$59.95
  • Immediate, unlimited access to this issue's content
  • CME credits
  • AAFP app access
  • Print delivery available
Purchase Access:  Learn More

These are summaries of reviews from the Cochrane Library.

This series is coordinated by Corey D. Fogleman, MD, assistant medical editor.

A collection of Cochrane for Clinicians published in AFP is available at https://www.aafp.org/afp/cochrane.

Continue Reading

More in AFP

More in PubMed

Copyright © 2022 by the American Academy of Family Physicians.

This content is owned by the AAFP. A person viewing it online may make one printout of the material and may use that printout only for his or her personal, non-commercial reference. This material may not otherwise be downloaded, copied, printed, stored, transmitted or reproduced in any medium, whether now known or later invented, except as authorized in writing by the AAFP.  See permissions for copyright questions and/or permission requests.

Copyright © 2024 American Academy of Family Physicians. All Rights Reserved.