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

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 QUESTIONS: Is the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test (HVLT) a reliable and valid screening test for mild dementia in older adults? How does it compare with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE)?

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 …

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Footnotes

  • Source of funding: not stated.

  • For correspondence: Dr G Byrne, Department of Psychiatry, University of Queensland, K Floor, Mental Health Centre, Royal Brisbane Hospital, Queensland 4029, Australia. Fax +61 7 3365 5488.

  • A modified version of this abstract also appears in Evidence-Based Nursing.