Nuevos datos normativos para el Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) en la población de personas mayores en Chile

Background: The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) is one of the most widely used tests to assess the global cognitive deterioration of older adults. There are many versions of this Test in Spanish. A validation study was previously conducted in Chile, but to date, no standards computed from a large population sample are available. Aim: to develop normative scores according to age and educational level for older people living in Chile. Method: Data were collected from a sample of 1199 subjects between 50 and 91 years of age from various research centers. Results: We present the normative scores in percentiles calculated according to age (50-64, 65-74, 75-91 years of age) and educational level (1-12 years and more than 13 years of formal schooling). Conclusion: This article provides normative scores for the MMSE that should be useful in clinical practice as they may help better interpret the performances of Chilean older adults who seek consultation for cognitive impairment.