Rita El-Hayeck

Saint Joseph University, Lebanon



Biography

Rita El-Hayeck has obtained her Medical degree at Saint Josph University, Lebanon. She continued her Family Medicine train­ing at Saint Joseph University and at the University of Montreal, Canada. This was followed by a fellowship training in Geriatrics at Strasboug University, France. She is actually practicing geri­atrics and responsible of a long term care facility of 500 beds and a rehabilitation facility of 70 beds in Lebanon. She also has a Diploma in Public Health and a Master’s in Neurosciences.

 

Abstract

Background & Objectives: The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) is a validated tool to assess cognition among the elderly. We aimed to evaluate the validity of an Arabic version of the MMSE developed by the “Groupe de Travail sur les Démences de l’Université Saint Joseph” (A-MMSE (GTD–USJ)) and to provide normative data by age, gender and education in adults over 55 years of age.

Methods: Study design: National cross-sectional survey. Study population: 1010 literate community-dwelling Lebanese residents. Outcomes: reproducibility, internal consistency, sensitivity, specificity, predictive values and area under the curve of the A-MMSE(GTD-USJ) for the detection of cognitive impairment using the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) as the gold standard. MMSE scores corresponding to the 5th, 10th, 50th percentiles were identified by gender, age groups and education levels.

Main Results: Intra-rater and inter-rater test-retest score correlations were 0.89 and 0.72 respectively. Cronbach alpha coefficients for internal consistency of the A-MMSE(GTD-USJ) was 0.71. A threshold value of 23, provided a sensitivity of 80 % and a specificity of 89.4% for the diagnosis of dementia. Area under the curve was 0.92. A-MMSE(GTD-USJ) scores increased with education level and decreased with age. Women had significantly lower scores than men. Normative data for A-MMSE (GTD-USJ) stratified by age, gender and education were generated.

Conclusion & Recommendations: Using CDR as a reference, the A-MMSE(GTD-USJ) was shown to be a reliable tool to assess cognitive status in the Lebanese population aged 55 and above. Normative data will help health professionals in detecting cognitive impairment in this population.