The Mattis Dementia Rating Scale in nursing home octogenarians and nonagenarians: effects of age and education

Mattis dementia rating scale (DRS) normative data for the brazilian middle-age and elderly populations

OBJECTIVE

To expand norms for the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale (DRS) for the Brazilian middle-age and elderly populations.

METHODS

The DRS was administered to 502 individuals without cognitive deficits, 312 women and 190 men, aged 50 years or over and with educational level ranging from 0 to 13 years or more. The sample was composed of subjects who participated in other studies, from Caeté (Minas Gerais state), Ribeirão Preto (São Paulo state) and São Paulo (São Paulo state). Participants were divided into four schooling groups (illiterate, 1 to 4 years, 5 to 12 years and 13 years or more). The subjects were divided into four groups according to age (50 to 60, 61 to 70, 71 to 80, and 80 years or over).

RESULTS

Normative data for DRS scores are expressed as percentile values. The group with lowest schooling and subjects older than 80 years had the worst scores.

CONCLUSION

As expected, age and education were strongly correlated with DRS scores. Illiterates and older old individuals performed worse than the other groups. These data might help to improve the accuracy of the diagnosis of cognitive impairment and dementia in Brazilian middle-age and elderly populations.

The influence of schooling on performance in the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale (DRS)

Studies have shown the influence of schooling on performance in the Dementia Rating Scale (DRS), suggesting that a single cut-off score is not appropriate for all groups of elderly people.

S-TOFHLA in mild Alzheimer's disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment patients as a measure of functional literacy: Preliminary study

The greatest difficulty in diagnosing cognitive loss in our population is the diversity of its education which has a broad spectrum ranging from illiteracy, functional illiteracy and different degrees of literacy, even in those with the same level of schooling.

Review of normative data for common screening measures used to evaluate cognitive functioning in elderly individuals

When conducting neuropsychological evaluations of the elderly, it is important to compare patients' test scores to appropriate normative data to maximize diagnostic and descriptive accuracy. Many sets of normative data are now available for screening measures that assess cognitive functioning in the elderly. This article systematically reviewed available norms for 6 widely used screening measures of cognitive functioning in elderly patients. Details regarding the sample characteristics and data collection methods are provided for each set of norms, thereby providing a useful reference for clinicians.

Mayo's Older African American Normative Studies: norms for the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale

Normative data are presented for older African Americans on the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale (DRS). These data were collected as part of Mayo's Older African Americans Normative Studies (MOAANS) in an effort to develop age-appropriate norms for African Americans elders on commonly used measures in neuropsychological assessment. In this study, the DRS was administered to 307 MOAANS participants ranging in age from 56 to 94 years. Age-corrected subtest and total scores were derived based on percentile ranks from actual frequency distributions across seven age ranges. Also presented is a regression-based computational formula that may be applied to the age-corrected DRS total score to further correct for years of education. These norms should help improve interpretation of DRS performance in African Americans and allow for greater diagnostic accuracy in patients with early cognitive decline.

Brazilian version of the Mattis dementia rating scale: diagnosis of mild dementia in Alzheimer's disease

OBJECTIVES

To verify the diagnostic accuracy of the Brazilian version of the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale (DRS) in the diagnosis of patients with mild dementia in Alzheimer's disease (AD); to verify the interference of the variables age and schooling on the performance of the DRS.

METHOD

The DRS was administered to 41 patients with mild AD and to 60 controls. In order to analyze the effects of age and schooling on the performance of the tests, patients and controls were separated into three age groups and three levels of schooling.

RESULTS

The cutoff score of 122 showed a sensitivity of 91.7 % and specificity of 87.8 %. Age and schooling interfered in the DRS total score and in the scores of its subscales.

CONCLUSION

The DRS showed good diagnostic accuracy in the discrimination of patients with mild AD from the control individuals. In the sample examined, the effects of schooling were more marked than age.