Conversion between the Modified Mini-Mental State Examination (3MSE) and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE)

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Neuroscience
• Psychometrics

Background:

• The Modified Mini-Mental State Examination (3MSE) and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) are widely used for cognitive function assessment.
• Converting scores between 3MSE and MMSE is valuable for integrated data analysis but lacks published methods.
• Limited reports exist on reliable conversion strategies between these cognitive assessment tools.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an item-level conversion tool for scoring 3MSE responses into MMSE measures.
• To create cross-walk tables for efficient conversion between 3MSE and MMSE scores.
• To provide a dual resource for researchers and clinicians working with cognitive assessment data.

Main Methods:

• An SAS program was developed to score 3MSE item-level responses, generating MMSE scores.
• Integrated datasets (n=8346) with paired 3MSE and MMSE scores were utilized.
• Cross-walk tables were constructed by linking 3MSE and MMSE scores from the same individuals.

Main Results:

• An SAS conversion program and derived cross-walk tables are now available.
• Validation demonstrated minimal bias (-0.11, SD=1.02) for 3MSE to MMSE conversion.
• The converse MMSE to 3MSE conversion exhibited substantial bias, indicating directional limitations.

Conclusions:

• The 3MSE to MMSE conversion table is suitable for clinical practice.
• This conversion tool can be effectively applied to legacy system data.
• The developed resources enhance the utility of cognitive assessment data in research and clinical applications.