Objective: Reliability and validity of the Mini Mental State Examination in differentiating mild dementia from normal controls in Turkish population.

Method: The Standardized Mini Mental State Examination (SMMSE) and its instruction were translated into Turkish. A total of 212 subjects with mean age of 77±6, were recruited for the study. 71 were diagnosed to be demented and 141 were evaluated as normal controls. The scale total score was analysed for discriminant validity using student’s t-test.  Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values and kappa score were calculated for  all of the scores between 18 and 29. Kappa value was calculated  for the comparison of the dementia diagnosis between the two investigators using the best cut off score obtained in the analysis above.

Results: Statistical analysis revealed that the Turkish version of the SMMSE has high discriminant validity and interrater reliability in the diagnosis of mild dementia. The  cut off score 23/24 was found to have the highest sensitivity (0,91), specificity (0,95), positive and negative predictive values (0,90 and 0,95) and kappa score (0,86). Interrater reliability analysis showed high correlation (r:0,99) and kappa value (0,92).

Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the Turkish version of the SMMSE has high reliability and validity for the diagnosis of mild dementia in Turkish population.