DEMENTIA-SCREENING IN CLINICAL ROUTINE - A COMPARATIVE-ANALYSIS OF MMSE, SIDAM, AND ADAS

Dementia-screening in clinical routine requires short, sensitive and s pecific tools. A number of standardized instruments are available for this purpose. The present study analysed the relationship between size of three examplary dementia-screening tests and their diagnostic accu racy. The Mini-Mental-State-Examination (MMSE),the Structured Intervie w for the Diagnosis of Dementia of the Alzheimer-type, Multiinfarct De mentia and Dementias of other Aetiologies according to ICD-10 and DSM- III-R (SIDAM) and the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale (ADAS) were applied to 71 patients with dementia of the Alzheimer-type and 73 non -demented controls. A ROC-analysis revealed that neighter SIDAM norADA S differentiated better between demented and non-demented probands tha n the MMSE. This was also true for patients with mild dementia. In dem entia staging the more comprehensive instruments did not surpass the M MSE,too. Due to it's brevity, the MMSE is the preferential screening-i nstrument for clinical routine.