Spanish-language cognitive screening tests: a critical review

Abstract

Introduction: Dementia is a chronic, degenerative disease with a strong impact on families and health systems. The instruments currently in use for measuring cognitive impairment have different psychometric characteristics in terms of application time, cut-off point, reliability, and validity. The objective of this review is to describe the characteristics of the validated, Spanish-language versions of the Mini-Cog, Clock-Drawing Test, and Mini-Mental State Examination scales for cognitive impairment screening.

Development: We performed a three-stage literature search of articles published on Medline since 1953. We selected articles on validated, Spanish-language versions of the scales that included data on reliability, validity, sensitivity, and specificity.

Conclusions: The 3 screening tools assessed in this article provide support for primary care professionals. Timely identification of mild cognitive impairment and dementia is crucial for the prognosis of these patients.

Keywords: Clock-Drawing test; Demencia; Dementia; Deterioro cognitivo; Mild cognitive impairment; Mini cog; Mini mental; Mini-Cog; Mini–Mental State examination; Prueba del reloj; Screening scales; Tamizaje.