The MMSE was replaced by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) in May 2021. The MMSE was administered for visits prior to May 2021.

The estimated MMSE score ranges from 0 to 30 and is either the MMSE score or the full MMSE score based on the MoCA score.

The Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) is a widely used, 30 item, standardized screening measure of dementia severity. It has previously been used in many epidemiologic studies and is a component of the CERAD protocol. Short term temporal stability is excellent and scores are highly correlated with those on other scales of severity of dementia. This test provides a global measure of cognitive function useful for descriptive purposes. The initial ten items provide a psychometric measure of orientation.

Participants are asked a series of questions to assess orientation to time and place, recall ability, short-term memory, and arithmetic ability.

The MMSE form includes the test of spelling WORLD backwards.

Note: If a participant is physically unable to answer one or more items, the score is imputed as the sum of the nonmissing items*30/(# of items answered).

The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is a widely used cognitive screening tool.

Participants are asked a series of questions assessing orientation to time and place, short-term memory, visuospatial ability, executive function, language, and abstraction. The score ranges from 0 to 30.

MoCA references: Nasreddine ZS, Phillips NA, Bedirian V, Charbonneau S, Whitehead V, Collin I et al. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment, MoCA: a brief screening tool for mild cognitive impairment. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2005; 53(4):695-9.

Trzepacz PT, Hochstetler H, Wang S, Walker B, Saykin AJ, and for the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. Relationship between the Montreal Cognitive Assessment and the Mini-Mental State Examination for assessment of mild cognitive impairment in older adults. BMC Geriatrics. 2015;15:107. DOI:10.1186/s12877-015-0103-3