The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) was created by Marshal Folstein et al. in 1975 as an instrument for brief (5–10 min) assessment of mental status in hospitalized patients. It is considered the most widely used test for standardized cognitive assessment in the clinical setting, especially with the elderly population. It has countless translations in different languages, and according to the different international (PubMed) and regional (SciELO, Redalyc, and Dialnet) scientific databases, it has been widely used by the scientific community. This article describes the historical evolution of the MMSE, highlights its evaluative properties, and provides bibliometric data on its impact on scientific publications, with a special focus on Ibero-America.

This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Scale of Fear of COVID-19 (FCV-19S) in a sample of 1,291 Argentines. The two-related factor structure of the FCV-19S had satisfactory goodness-of-fit indices using structural equation modeling and item response theory. Further results showed that the reliability was adequate, the factor structure was strictly invariable across age groups, and the model that evaluated the relationships between fear of COVID-19, anxiety, and depression had adequate goodness of fit indices as well. The results indicated that FCV-19S has strong psychometric properties to measure fear of COVID-19 in the general population of Argentina.

El objetivo de la presente investigación fue determinar la relación entre ansiedad por Covid - 19 y salud mental en 356 estudiantes universitarios (227 mujeres y 129 hombres, Medad = 22.36 años, DE = 2.46). Asimismo, se comparó la ansiedad por Covid - 19 y salud mental entre algunas variables sociodemográficas. Se aplicó la versión en español de la Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS) y el Mental Health Inventory-5 (MHI). Los resultados muestran que una mayor ansiedad por COVID – 19 se relaciona con una disminución de la salud mental (ρ = −.67, p <.01). Asimismo, respecto a las comparaciones realizadas se evidencian diferencias estadísticamente significativas en función a las variables sociodemográficas previamente mencionadas. El estudio confirma que a mayor ansiedad por COVID – 19 menor salud mental en una muestra de estudiantes universitarios peruanos.

The objective was to evaluate the cross-cultural measurement invariance of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) in 7 Latin American countries (Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Paraguay, Argentina, and Uruguay). The participants were 2944 people, selected through non-probability sampling for convenience, where the majority were women. Data collection occurred between 12 June and 14 September 2020. The results indicated that the model with two related factors presents a better fit to the data and has partial scalar invariance among the 7 countries. Differences in emotional and physiological reactions were observed between the countries.

The COVID-19 pandemic has gravely impacted Latin America. A model was tested that evaluated the contribution of socio-demographic factors and fear of COVID-19 on anxiety and depression in samples of residents in seven Latin American countries (Argentina, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Uruguay, Colombia, and El Salvador). A total of 4,881 individuals, selected by convenience sampling, participated in the study. Moderate and severe levels of depressive symptoms and anxiety were identified, as well as a moderate average level of fear of COVID-19. In addition, it was observed that about a quarter of the participants presented symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder and a major depressive episode. Fear of COVID-19 significantly and positively predicted anxiety and depressive symptoms, whereas the effects of socio-demographic variables are generally low [χ²(287) = 5936.96, p < 0.001; RMSEA = 0.064 [0.062, 0.065]; CFI = 0.947; and SRMR = 0.050]. This suggests the need for the implementation of preventive actions in the general population of these countries, with the aim of reducing the prevalence of depressive, anxious and fearful symptoms related to COVID-19.