[labby]

http://www.bmj.com/cgi/data/bmj.b2030/DC1/1



The answers are here:

http://www.bmj.com/cgi/data/bmj.b2030/DC1/2


They say anything above a 42 is good.

 

[Clanceycanuck]

I'm scared.

 

[amazongold]

I missed the Prime Minister and 1914, got all the rest. If they had asked who is President, I would have only missed one.

 

[Golfgirlrobin]

I had a terrible time with creatures that start with S. Just drew a total blank.

 

[labby]

They didn't say the Prime Minister of what? Canada? GB? Germany? I messed up that one, the WWI year (said 1917) and two of the math Q's. Heck, I couldn't do math before I started doing drugs as a teen. Why do they think I can do it now?

 

[labby]

I did three. Seal, swallow, seahorse.

 

[amazongold]

Stingray, seahorse, spider, skunk.

 

[labby]

Well you did better than I did. lol

 

[Rushpuppy]

I named snake, samoyed, sea gull, snail

 

[bearsdad]

I was confused just looking at it ..

 

[labby]

lol Eric

 

[Bob Pr.]

Since it asked for Prime Minister, I assumed it was British, so I gave 1st & last name for UK's current one. Didn't think about Canada -- and I'm ashamed to say I don't recall (his?) name.

This Alzheimer's screening takes some items from typical mental status evaluations done in interviews by psychiatrists (& some psychologists) -- but it sets the bar at a pretty low level. It's commonly used to screen for the likelihood of that condition and to help decide whether to refer the patient for more extensive and precise tests by psychologists and neurologists.

If you don't know your date of birth or the name of the president of the US (a commonly used question in the US, equivalent to asking for the PM in a UK country) then you obviously are having some problems with reality contact. Since the 1940's, maybe earlier, common questions on US mental status exams have been "Who is the president of the United States?" followed by "Who was the president before him?"

 

[BauersMom]

Didn't get the Prime Minister, but got the rest. The clock question must be pretty common on Alzheimer's tests. I recently watched a documentary, and they showed pictures of clocks that Alzheimer's patients of varying degrees drew. It was very interesting.

 

[Buddysmom]

I missed the PM and year WWI began. I never was good at history.

 

[theoconbrio]

My shoes are not very stout. Do I have Alzheimer's?

 

[3TailsWaggin]

I said the sentence was "All good citizens wear stout shoes."
Do I have alzheimers???

 

[Samson]

My shoes are not very stout. Do I have Alzheimer's?

Yes Nathan

 

[brody]

The clock test and questions relating to your relationship with time place and space are a standard on dementia testing

It's actually, in a fly on the wall way, quite interesting to see how someone affected by dementia can pull some things together fine but completely not put the whole picture together ... for example a person may know they are on the fourth floor but not in a hospital ... or in a specific city but not the name of the state or country

the only thing I have learned over the last 2 years of dealing with dementias is that the mind is a very very weird thing...

(and it's no joking matter - for the person involved or the familes dealing with it )