Background: One of the components of the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) is the request to write a sentence. We investigated the relationship between the characteristics of the written sentence of the MMSE and the cognitive and affective status of elderly patients. Methods: The characteristics of the sentence were compared to the total MMSE score, sociodemographic characteristics, tests evaluating cognition and affective status, and diagnoses. Results: The number of words was significantly associated with the degree of cognitive impairment, whereas the emotional polarity of sentences and concerns about health were associated with depression. Conclusions: Characteristics of the MMSE sentence may provide important additional information regarding both cognition and affect when assessing older people.

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