Trump health check: would you pass the Montreal cognitive test?
President aced ten-minute routine screening but how reliable is it?
Donald Trump’s doctor has announced that the US president received a perfect 30 out of 30 score on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, a tool that screens patients for mental conditions including Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment.
White House physician Ronny Jackson says he has “absolutely no concerns” about Trump’s cognitive ability, the brain-based skills needed to carry out both simple and complex tasks.
But what is the Montreal test, and is it conclusive?
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Studies show that the test can be used to spot problems with the brain’s executive functioning “even before other signs of mental decline are apparent”, The Washington Post says.
Although the standard Montreal test is “pretty good”, it is “not definitive”, Dr Ronald Petersen, an Alzheimer’s disease expert at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, told Reuters.
The Alzheimer’s Association says the disease is not detected through just one test but through a complete assessment that considers possible causes.
The 30-point Montreal test takes about ten minutes and requires patients to perform memory and other mental tasks, CNN says. Participants are asked, for example, to draw a line between a number and a letter in ascending order; to draw a clock and put numbers on it; and to remember a list of common words.
People with a good or average memory generally forget one of the five words and are still within the normal range, Dr James Mastrianni, an expert in neurodegenerative conditions, told Reuters.
What the Montreal test does not do is assess psychiatric fitness - and Trump did not undergo a psychiatric evaluation, according to his doctor.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Cicada-geddon: the fungus that controls insects like 'zombies'
Under The Radar Expert says bugs will develop 'hypersexualisation' despite their genitals falling off
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
'Voters know Biden and Trump all too well'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Is the Gaza war tearing US university campuses apart?
Today's Big Question Protests at Columbia University, other institutions, pit free speech against student safety
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Nigeria's worsening rate of maternal mortality
Under the radar Economic crisis is making hospitals unaffordable, with women increasingly not receiving the care they need
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Dengue hits the Americas hard and early
Speed Read Puerto Rico has declared an epidemic as dengue cases surge
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How happy is Finland really?
Today's Big Question Nordic nation tops global happiness survey for seventh year in a row with 'focus on contentment over joy'
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
How Tehran became the world's nose job capital
Under the radar Iranian doctors raise alarm over low costs, weak regulation and online influence of 'Western beauty standards'
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Africa's renewed battle against female genital mutilation
Under the radar Campaigners call for ban in Sierra Leone after deaths of three girls as coast-to-coast convoy prepares to depart
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Argentina: the therapy capital of the world
Under the radar Buenos Aires natives go hungry to pay for psychoanalysis, amid growing instability, anxiety – and societal acceptance
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Does declining birth rate spell doom for Britain?
Today's Big Question Ageing population puts pressure on welfare state, economy and fabric of society, while fertility is rising on populist agendas
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
How a new blood test could revolutionise sepsis diagnosis
The Explainer Early results from ongoing trial suggest faster identification of deadly condition is possible
By The Week Staff Published