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The Validation of the GHQ-28 and the use of the MMSE in Neurological In-Patients

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

K. W. Bridges  and
D. P. Goldberg
K. W. Bridges*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Manchester Royal Infirmary, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9WL (formerly Clinical Research Fellow, University of Manchester)
D. P. Goldberg
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of South Manchester, West Didsbury, Manchester M20 8LR
*
∗Correspondence
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Abstract

The routine use of screening instruments for psychiatric and cognitive impairment in hospital in-patients has been recommended in the United States. The validity of the scaled version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) and the clinical utility of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) were therefore evaluated in a consecutive series of neurological in-patients (N=102). Using Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis, the discriminating power of the GHQ was very good, and best when using a threshold score of 11/12. The patient sample turned out not to contain any with generalised cortical damage, which casts some doubt on whether the MMSE should be used routinely in all neurological in-patients units in the UK.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 148 , Issue 5 , May 1986 , pp. 548 - 553
Copyright
Copyright © 1986 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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