MINI-MENTAL-STATE-EXAMINATION - INFLUENCE OF SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC, ENVIRONMENTAL AND BEHAVIORAL-FACTORS, AND VASCULAR RISK-FACTORS

Age and education have been found to affect the Mini Mental State Exam ination (MMSE) score of elderly normals, but there have been no studie s assessing the influence of environmental and behavioral factors on t his test, We therefore administered the MMSE to 1437 normal elderly su bjects in the setting of a stroke prevention study and correlated thei r results to 16 sociodemographic, environmental, and behavioral factor s, and vascular risk factors. Study statistics composed of a multiple logistic regression analysis and graphical models revealed the relatio ns between variables in greater detail. Logistic regression yielded ed ucation level, occupational status, living as a single, general life s tress, physical strain, and physical inactivity to be independent pred ictors of the MMSE score. Age was not included in this model, Graphica l models demonstrated similar results, but did not include living as a single and physical inactivity. As shown in our independence graph, g eneral life stress is the crucial predictor and links other environmen tal and sociodemographic variables with the test performance of elderl y normals.