3. Six Item Cognitive Impairment Test

Six Item Cognitive Impairment Test (6CIT)

This PatientPlus article is written for healthcare professionals so the language may be more technical than the condition leaflets. You may find the abbreviations list helpful.

The 6 Item Cognitive Impairment Test (6CIT) Kingshill Version 2000® was developed in 1983,[1] by regression analysis of the Blessed Information Memory Concentration Scale (BIMC).[2] The 6CIT is a useful dementia screening tool in Primary Care. It was used in a large European assessment tool (Easycare©) and with new computerised versions its usage is increasing.

6CIT - Kingshill Version 2000
1. What year is it?
2. What month is it?
3. Give the patient an address phrase to remember with 5 components,
eg John, Smith, 42, High St, Bedford
4. About what time is it (within 1 hour)
5. Count backwards from 20-1
6. Say the months of the year in reverse
7. Repeat address phrase
6CIT score = /28
  • Number of questions 6
  • Time taken to perform 3-4 mins
  • Score The 6CIT uses an inverse score and questions are weighted to produce a total out of 28. Scores of 0-7 are considered normal and 8 or more significant.
  • Advantages The test has high sensitivity without compromising specificity even in mild dementia. It is easy to translate linguistically and culturally.
  • Disadvantages The main disadvantage is in the scoring and weighting of the test, which is initially confusing, however computer models have simplified this greatly.
  • Probability Statistics At the 7/8 cut off: Overall figures sensitivity 90% specificity 100%, in mild dementia sensitivity = 78% , specificity = 100%

The 6CIT is a much newer test than the Abbreviated Mental Test (AMT): it would appear to be culturally and linguistically translatable with good probability statistics, however it is held back by its more complex scoring system. Furthermore it would be nice to see some additional larger population studies using the test.

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Further reading & references

  1. Brooke P, Bullock R; Validation of a 6 item cognitive impairment test with a view to primary care usage. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 1999 Nov;14(11):936-40.
  2. Blessed G, Tomlinson BE, Roth M; The association between quantitative measures of dementia and of senile change in the cerebral grey matter of elderly subjects. Br J Psychiatry. 1968 Jul;114(512):797-811.
Original Author: Dr Huw Thomas Current Version:
Last Checked: 20/12/2010 Document ID: 4172  Version: 7 © EMIS

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