The Mini Mental Status Exam is only a first step
If you’re worried that your older adult could be showing signs of Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, it’s important to not jump to any conclusions.
That’s because other medical conditions, medication side effects, or psychiatric issues could be causing dementia-like symptoms.
So, the first step is to have their primary doctor do a full physical and mental exam.
To look for possible cognitive issues, many doctors use a common screening test called the Mini Mental Status Exam (MMSE).
The Mini Mental Status Exam is a useful tool because it’s quick, simple, and can be used by any doctor without special training.
But it has significant limitations and cannot be used alone to make a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s or dementia.
We explain what the MMSE doesn’t test for and why a too-quick diagnosis could be harmful to your older adult’s health.
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The MMSE doesn’t catch all dementia symptoms
The MMSE can’t be used alone to diagnose Alzheimer’s or dementia because the majority of questions test only memory and recall.
Someone who knows what day it is, what a certain object is, or who can remember a short list of random things could do well on the test.
But that doesn’t mean they don’t have dementia. Some types, like Lewy body dementia, affect judgement far more than memory.
Some dementia symptoms the MMSE would miss include:
Freely giving out bank account information to strangers
Suddenly spending money like crazy when they’re always been frugal
Making risky investment decisions when they’ve always been conservative investors
MMSE results don’t give enough information for accurate diagnosis or treatment
Non-geriatrics doctors often aren’t experienced in diagnosing Alzheimer’s or dementia.
Because of this, they might not know about the recommended testing and could jump to conclusions based solely on MMSE results.
As a caregiver, it’s important to know that it’s simply not possible to get an accurate dementia diagnosis in just one office visit.
A basic physical exam and MMSE screening doesn’t give enough information to declare a case of Alzheimer’s and prescribe medications like Namenda or Aricept.
Jumping to conclusions could cause your older adult to get the wrong treatment, which could be harmful to their health.
For example:
Their dementia-like symptoms could be caused by a treatable medical condition like heart disease, vitamin deficiency, or kidney failure.
Their symptoms could be caused by a medication side effect or drug interaction.
They could have signs of depression or another psychiatric issue.
Different types of dementia can require different treatment.
Even if your older adult does have a form of dementia, how would the doctor know whether they have vascular dementia or Alzheimer’s or another type based solely on the MMSE?
They can’t, which is why further testing and evaluation is needed for an accurate diagnosis.
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By DailyCaring Editorial Team
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