Abstract

Introduction: Phototest is a simple, easy and very brief test with theoretical advantages over available dementia screening tests in Spain and Argentina. Objective: The objective of this study was to estimate the diagnostic accuracy of the Phototest for cognitive impairment and dementia and to compare it with that of the MMSE in a Chilean population. Methods: A phase I cross-sectional study of diagnostic tests evaluation was performed in a sample of 58 controls, 11 with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (a-MCI), and 29 with mild Alzheimer type dementia (DAT). The diagnostic accuracy (DA) was assessed in relation to the clinical diagnosis by calculating the area under the ROC curve (UAC), Sensitivity (Sn), and Specificity (Sp). Results: The DA of the Phototest for a-MCI and DAT (0.90 and 0.99 [UAC]) was higher than that of the MMSE. The cut-off points of 25/26 for DAT (Sn = 98.3, Sp = 89.7) and 26/27 for a-MCI (Sn = 96.6, Sp = 81.8) maximized the sum of Sn and Sp. Phototest correlates significantly with MMSE (r = .801). Phototest results were not influenced by the level of schooling or literacy. Conclusions: The Phototest is an efficient instrument for the detection of mild dementia or MCI, with good accuracy and good correlation with tests measuring overall cognitive impairment and its results are not influenced by sociodemographic variables.