Evaluation of the Modified Mini-Mental State Examination in a General Psychiatric Population

Studies of clinical cognitive screening tests began in the 1960s, and ten instruments have been reported in the English literature. In this study, we have compared the widely used Mini-Mental State Examination developed by Folstein with a reportedly enhanced version, the Modified Mini-Mental State Examination devised by Teng, using a sample of 250 patients (inpatients, outpatients, emergency). We have come to the conclusion that the modifications brought about by Teng result in a minor improvement of the validity of the Mini-Mental State Examination in a psychiatric patients in a general hospital.