Printed from the online version of Medical care of older persons in residential aged care facilities (4th edition) - www.racgp.org.au/silverbook

Abbreviated Mental Test Score

The Abbreviated Mental Test Score (AMTS) was introduced by Hodkinson in 1972 to quickly assess elderly patients for the possibility of dementia. The test has utility across a range of acute and outpatient settings. It has been tested on an Australian sample of patients.²⁶³ The test takes 5 minutes and must include all 10 questions. Maximum score is 10. A score of less than 7 or 8 suggests cognitive impairment. The test can differentiate normal from cognitively impaired but is not reliable in identifying delirium.²⁶⁴

Source: Hodkinson HM. Evaluation of a mental test score for assessment of mental impairment in the elderly. Age Ageing 1972;1:233–8

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