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

BACKGROUND: The Modified Mini‐Mental State Examination (3MSE) and the Mini‐Mental State Examination (MMSE) are two commonly used instruments for assessing cognitive function. Although conversion between 3MSE and MMSE is useful in applications such as integrative data analysis, there are limited published reports on the topic. Our objective is to provide a dual tool: (1) an item‐level conversion tool to score responses for deriving both 3MSE and MMSE measures, and (2) cross‐walk tables to facilitate quick conversion between 3MSE and MMSE. METHODS: An SAS program tool allows scoring of 3MSE item‐level responses into MMSE score. Using integrated data sets (n = 8346), actual 3MSE and MMSE scores obtained from the same individuals were linked to form cross‐walk tables. RESULTS: An SAS conversion program was made available. Cross‐walk tables were derived. Validation sample shows bias is –0.11 (standard deviation = 1.02) in 3MSE→MMSE; the converse had substantially large bias. DISCUSSION: The 3MSE→MMSE conversion table can be used in clinical practice and legacy system data.