The Agreement between the MMSE and IQCODE Tests in a Community-Based Sample of Subjects Aged 70 Years or Older Receiving In-Home Nursing: An Explorative Study

Abstract

Aim: It was the aim of this study to compare the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) with the Informant Questionnaire for Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE) and to explore the characteristics of subjects with possible dementia with only one of the two tools. Methods: We used a random sample of patients aged 70+ receiving social service or in-home nursing. The patients were tested with the MMSE, and the next of kin was interviewed using the following: the IQCODE, the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (CSDD), the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI), instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), personal ADL (PADL) and the General Medical Health Rating (GMHR). Results: Subjects with dementia defined only according to the MMSE showed a pattern of scores on IADL, PADL, CSDD, NPI-10 and GMHR similar to the no-dementia group according to both the MMSE and the IQCODE. Those with dementia defined only according to the IQCODE showed a pattern of scores similar to the possible dementia group according to both the MMSE and the IQCODE.

Burden of Care and Patient's Neuropsychiatric Symptoms Influence Carer's Evaluation of Cognitive Impairment

“…To summarize, most studies conclude that the IQCODE can be used to identify patients with signs of dementia [27]. Cross-validation studies between the IQCODE and other similar informant questionnaires and cognitive tests have been conducted showing that informant-based measures seem to be reliable in identifying cognitive changes in patients with AD [27,28,29], but studies also emphasize the risk of biases [30,31,32,33]. Burden of care and the patient's behavior are two important factors that could bias the IQCODE rating.…”

“…We found only a few studies examining the relationship between neuropsychiatric symptoms in the patient and the IQCODE rating. Two studies found a significant correlation between neuropsychiatric symptoms and the IQCODE rating [33,36], whereas another found no correlation [37]. Thus, this association needs to be studied further.…”

Factors associated with informant-reported cognitive decline in older adults: A systemised literature review

“…Five studies included gender as a potential correlate. Although three of these concluded that IRCD, as reported by the IQCODE, was not significantly associated with patient gender (Farias et al., 2004; Kirkevold & Selbaek, 2015; Nygaard et al., 2009), two reported a significant, albeit weak, association. Jorm et al (1994) identified a trend for informants to report greater cognitive decline on a survey of male patients, whilst Persson et al.…”

“…Seven studies examined the relationship between patient age and IRCD. Five found a positive association between age and IRCD without controlling for other variables; with informants reporting significantly greater cognitive decline on a survey (Jorm et al., 1994) and the IQCODE (Farias, Mungas, Reed, Haan, & Jagust, 2004; Kirkevold & Selbaek, 2015; Nygaard, Naik, & Geitung, 2009; Persson, Braekhus, Selbaek, Kirkevold, & Engedal, 2015) with increasing age.…”

“…Farias et al. (2004) reported that age remained a significant predictor of IQCODE score after controlling for cognitive variables, whilst Kirkevold and Selbaek (2015) observed that age was no longer associated with IQCODE score when patient gender, everyday functioning, neuropsychiatric symptoms and medical health were included.…”