Brief screening for mild cognitive impairment: validation of the Brazilian version of the Montreal cognitive assessment.
Int J Geriatr Psychiatry 2013;
28:34-40. [PMID:
22368034 DOI:
10.1002/gps.3787]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 125] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2011] [Accepted: 01/13/2012] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND
The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is a brief cognitive schedule that has been developed for the screening of patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). MCI is recognized as a high-risk state for Alzheimer's disease. The aim of the present study is to examine the reliability and validity of the Brazilian version of the MoCA test (MoCA-BR) in a sample of older individuals with at least 4 years of education.
METHODS
The MoCA-BR was administered to 112 older adults who were classified into three diagnostic groups according to their cognitive state (Alzheimer's disease, n = 28; MCI, n = 43; normal controls, n = 41). This procedure was based on clinical and neuropsychological data. The performance in the MoCA-BR was compared with the Mini-mental state examination (MMSE) and the Cambridge Cognitive Examination. Diagnostic accuracy was examined with the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses.
RESULTS
Cronbach's alpha for the MoCA-BR was 0.75. Temporal stability (retesting after 3 months) using intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.75 (p < 0.001). The sensitivity and specificity of the MoCA-BR for MCI were 81% and 77%, respectively, with a cut-off score of 25 points. The area under the ROC curve for predicting MCI was 0.82 ± 0.06.
CONCLUSIONS
The present results indicate that the MoCA-BR maintains its core diagnostic properties rendering it a valid and reliable tool for the screening of MCI among older individuals with at least 4 years of education.
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