The Milan Overall Dementia Assessment and the Mini-Mental State Examination compared: an epidemiological investigation of dementia

We assessed the validity of two screening tests [the Mini-Mental State Exam ination (MMSE) and the Milan Overall Dementia Assessment or (MODA)] in a po pulation study on the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease, carried out in a s mall town in the north of Italy. A random sample of 1000 subjects aged 60 y ears or over entered the study. Subjects who scored below the cut-off point s on MODA or on MMSE, or both, were further investigated with neuropsycholo gical, laboratory and instrumental tests to ascertain a final diagnosis, wh ich was considered as the gold standard. Our findings show that MODA has a higher sensitivity than MMSE in detecting subjects affected by dementing il lnesses, while MMSE shows a higher specificity. MODA seems to be preferable to MMSE as a screening test for studies where a very high sensitivity is r equired. Eur J Neurol 6:289-294 (C) 1999 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.