The clock drawing test is an important contribution to the Mini Mental State Examination in screening for cognitive impairment.

Background: The clock drawing test (CDT) and the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) are frequently used screening instruments for cognitive impairment, however, the precise contribution of the CDT to the MMSE is largely unknown.

Methods: We studied patients with subjective cognitive impairment (SCI, n = 481), mild cognitive impairment (MCI, n = 628) and Alzheimer's disease (AD, n = 1099). Discrimination between patients was examined with multiple logistic regression, adjusted for age, sex, and education.

The association between intelligence scores and family history of psychiatric disorder in schizophrenia patients, their siblings and healthy controls.

Background: The degree of intellectual impairment in schizophrenia patients and their relatives has been suggested to be associated with the degree of familial loading for schizophrenia. Since other psychiatric disorders are also more present in relatives of schizophrenia patients, the definition of family history should be broadened. The association between family history for psychiatric disorder and intelligence scores was investigated in patients with non-affective psychosis, their unaffected siblings and controls.

The influence of informant characteristics on the reliability of family history interviews.

Family history interviews are widely used in psychiatric research, as well as in genetic and twin studies, and provide a way to collect family history information quickly and economically. To obtain a valid assessment of family history, it is important to investigate which family member will be able to provide accurate information. Previous research shows that the validity of family history reporting can be influenced by characteristics of the informant, such as age, gender and personal history of psychiatric disorder.