Mini-Mental State Examination: Greek Normative Data Stratified by Age and Education in a Large Sample of 925 Community-Dwelling Healthy Participants

Abstract

Background: Cognitive screening measures are widely administered in everyday clinical practice in different geriatric settings. Despite the presence of several extended-like screening tests, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) continues to be largely used not only by neuropsychologists, neurologists, and psychiatrists but also by general practitioners and other health-related specialties. Aim: We herein provide normative data for the MMSE in a large sample of community-dwelling healthy participants aged over 50 years old stratified by age and education. Material and Methods: The sample included 925 community-dwelling healthy participants (age range: 50–91 years) of both genders (231 males/694 females) with different educational level (range: 1–16 years). Demographic-related effects were examined for the total MMSE score using hierarchical regression analysis; normative data are presented in mean ± standard deviation and percentile ranks and divided into seven overlapping age tables with different midpoints at 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, and 85 years using the overlapping cell procedure. Results: Initial analysis did not show any effect of gender but revealed significant correlation between age, education, and total MMSE. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that education significantly accounted for 17.3% of the total variance in the MMSE with age adding a significant 7.4% to the final model (adjusted R2 = 0.246, F = 151.872, p < 0.001; age: β = −0.286, p < 0.001; education: β = 0.332, p < 0.001). The sample was stratified according to the overlapping cell procedure with regard to age (age groups: 50–60, 55–65, 60–70, 65–75, 70–80, 75–85, 80–91); four educational levels were considered: 1–5, 6–9, 10–12, and 13–16 years. Conclusions: Current normative data for the Greek version of the MMSE are provided as a useful set of norms for clinical and research practice.