Capacity to make treatment decisions in Chinese older persons with very mild dementia and mild Alzheimer disease.

Objectives: This study aims at assessing mental competence in Chinese patients with mild and very mild dementia with a semistructured assessment method and the impact of repeated presentations of information on patients' mental competence.

Design: Subjects with mild and very mild dementia were compared with cognitively intact subjects.

Setting: Chinese subjects were recruited from local social centers and residential hostels for the elderly in Hong Kong.