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The Montreal Cognitive Assessment, MoCA: A Brief Screening Tool For Mild Cognitive Impairment

2005/03/30 by Ziad S. Nasreddine, Ziad Nasreddine, Natalie A. Phillips +6 · 25,770 citations
Health Professions · Medicine · #Cognition #Cognitive impairment #Dementia #Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research #Disease #Gerontology #Intensive Care Unit Cognitive Disorders #Internal medicine #Medicine #Mini–Mental State Examination #Montreal Cognitive Assessment #Older Adults Driving Studies #Physical therapy #Psychiatry

paper · doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.2005.53221.x

published in Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 53(4), 695-699 (Wiley)

openalex publication_date 2005/03/30 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To develop a 10-minute cognitive screening tool (Montreal Cognitive Assessment, MoCA) to assist first-line physicians in detection of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a clinical state that often progresses to dementia. DESIGN: Validation study. SETTING: A community clinic and an academic center. PARTICIPANTS: Ninety-four patients meeting MCI clinical criteria supported by psychometric measures, 93 patients with mild Alzheimer's disease (AD) (Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score > or =17), and 90 healthy elderly controls (NC). MEASUREMENTS: The MoCA and MMSE were administered to all participants, and sensitivity and specificity of both measures were assessed for detection of MCI and mild AD. RESULTS: Using a cutoff score 26, the MMSE had a sensitivity of 18% to detect MCI, whereas the MoCA detected 90% of MCI subjects. In the mild AD group, the MMSE had a sensitivity of 78%, whereas the MoCA detected 100%. Specificity was excellent for both MMSE and MoCA (100% and 87%, respectively). CONCLUSION: MCI as an entity is evolving and somewhat controversial. The MoCA is a brief cognitive screening tool with high sensitivity and specificity for detecting MCI as currently conceptualized in patients performing in the normal range on the MMSE.

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