Comparison of mental status tests: implications for Alzheimer's patients and their caregivers

Most existing measures commonly used to determine cognitive dysfunction in demented persons exclude important pieces of information. In an effort to address this deficiency, many Alzheimer's disease programs have combined items from the Blessed Information, Orientation, Memory and Concentration Test with those of the more established Mini-Mental State Exam. While the expansion may be clinically helpful, results are typically presented in the form of summary scores that ignore the issue of multidimensionality. Drawing upon data from 201 elderly patients afflicted with Alzheimer's disease and their adult child caregivers, this study examined the factorial structure of the combined Blessed Folstein Instruments. The factor-derived scores are compared with summary scores in terms of their association with functional status of the patients and with caregiver stress and burden.