DementiaRoadmap

The Mini-Cog is a brief cognitive function test to screen for cognitive impairment in older adults in the primary care setting.

The Mini-Cog uses a three word memory recall test and a clock-drawing test. The latter serves as an informative distractor, helping to clarify scores when the memory recall score is intermediate.

The Mini-Cog was developed in a community sample that over-represented people with dementia, low education, non-white ethnicity and non-English speakers.

In a population-based retrospective study, its effectiveness was compared with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and a standardised neuropsychological battery.

It has similar sensitivity than the MMSE at a cut-off point of 25 (76 per cent vs 79 per cent) and similar specificity (89 per cent vs. 88 per cent) for dementia and is at least twice as fast to conduct as the MMSE.

Download the Mini-cog and instructions for use http://geriatrics.uthscsa.edu/tools/MINICog.pdf