HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS REGISTER		Author Keyword(s) Vol Page [Advanced]

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Add article to my folders Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Lawlor, P. G Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Lawlor, P. G Topic Collections EBM Diagnosis

The Hopkins Verbal Learning Test had high sensitivity and good specificity for detecting mild dementia in older adults

Design
Blinded comparison of HVLT and MMSE results with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) diagnoses of dementia (the diagnostic standard).

Setting
The Geriatric Psychiatry Service of the Royal Brisbane Hospital and District Health Service, Australia.

Patients
56 patients (mean age 75 y, 63% women, mean education 8.5 y) participated. Exclusion criteria were age <65 years, hearing impairment, aphasia, MMSE score <18, insufficient ability to speak English, or inability to consent.

Description of tests and diagnostic standard
3 experienced registered nurses blinded to patients' diagnostic status administered the HVLT and the MMSE. The maximum HVLT total score was 36 and for the HVLT recognition score, 12. The maximum MMSE total score was 30. Each patient was assessed by an independent psychiatrist (blinded to HVLT and MMSE test results) for the presence of dementia and other psychiatric diagnoses using DSM-IV criteria.

Main outcome measures
Area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative likelihood ratios, . . . [Full text of this article]

Peter G Lawlor, MB, MMedSc

University of Alberta Edmonton, Alberta, Canada