MINI-MENTAL-STATE-EXAMINATION AND WECHSLER MEMORY SCALE SUBTEST OF LOGICAL MEMORY - CORRELATION IN AN OVER 70-YEAR-OLD POPULATION

The correlation between the mini-mental state examination (MMSE) and t he logical memory (LM) subtest of the Wechsler memory scale (WMS) was evaluated in a group of healthy Italians, aged seventy and over, with no significant cognitive impairment. A horizontal study was carried ou t using 146 subjects (126 women and 20 men; mean age 72.7 +/- 3.7 year s) who enrolled consecutively in the exercise courses for the elderly organized by the Municipality of Torino. A statistically significant c orrelation was found between the average total MMSE score and the LM s core (r = 0.4315, p < 0.001) of the entire sample. This correlation wa s found even after dividing the sample into two groups based on the pr esence or absence of self-perceived memory impairment. When each domai n of the MMSE (orientation. registration, attention, recall, language) was compared singly to the total LM score, a statistically significan t correlation was found for all the domains except orientation. These results indicate that the LM subtest of the WMS can be a useful tool f or the rapid investigation of cognitive impairment in otherwise health y geriatric subjects presenting with memory defects, without any loss of autonomy.