Buzz
Are you a physician evaluating an elderly patient? Do you aim to ensure you can detect signs of mild dementia in your patient? You might consider asking straightforward questions, such as whether the patient can identify a drawing of a lion or recall a list of five words. However, determining a president's fitness for office would likely require more than a brief ten-minute evaluation.
During his recent physical examination, the president aced the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, achieving a perfect score of 30 out of 30. Thankfully, he does recognize what a lion looks like.
This outcome doesn’t confirm that he’s in peak mental health or that he’s fit to stand trial. Here’s the real significance of the test: If someone has mild cognitive impairment, such as early-stage Alzheimer’s, there’s approximately a 90 percent chance they’ll perform poorly on the test. Conversely, if they don’t have such impairment, there’s an 87 percent chance they’ll pass.
And that’s the extent of its usefulness. Numerous aspects of mental health remain undetected by this type of assessment. If you’re interested in how you might fare, try it with a friend: the test is available here, and instructions can be found here. Since it’s designed to be administered by a medical professional, don’t overinterpret the results (unless your friend happens to be a doctor).
Here’s an interesting tidbit: Ziad Nasreddine, the creator of the test, moved to Canada from Lebanon during his teenage years. In a subtle yet sharp remark during an interview with the Canadian National Post, he expressed his hope that the president would take away a key lesson from the test: “This demonstrates how immigrants, including Arabs, can offer significant contributions to American society.”
