Of the four studies included in the review, all except one study had limitations in how the Mini-Cog was evaluated, which may have led to an overestimation of the accuracy of the Mini-Cog in the remaining studies. Overall, our review identified four studies conducted in primary care settings that compared the accuracy of the Mini-Cog to detailed assessment of dementia by dementia specialists. We included studies that evaluated individuals with any potential severity of dementia and regardless of whether previous cognitive testing had been completed prior to the Mini-Cog. The purpose of our review was to compare the accuracy of the Mini-Cog for detecting dementia of any type in primary care settings when compared to in-depth evaluation conducted by dementia specialists. We searched electronic databases for articles evaluating the Mini-Cog and this evidence is current as of January 2017. The Mini-Cog consists of a memory task that involves recall of three words and an evaluation of a clock drawing task. The Mini-Cog, a brief cognitive screening tool, has been suggested as a possible screening test for dementia in primary care as it has been reported to be accurate and relatively easy to administer in primary care settings. Such tools in primary care must be relatively easy to use, quick to administer, and accurate so as to be feasible to use in primary care while at the same time not overdiagnose or underdiagnose dementia. These tools should also be able to rule out dementia in those individuals with memory complaints who do not have dementia or significant memory problems. Therefore, there is a need for tools that could identify individuals who may have dementia or significant memory problems. Most individuals with memory difficulties will first seek out care or be identified in the healthcare system through their primary care health care providers, which may include family physicians or nurses. In most parts of the world there are increasing numbers of older adults, and memory complaints and conditions such as Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia are becoming increasingly common as a result.

Mmse reliability and validity