A sample size of 1460 was calculated based on the reported sensitivity and specificity of the MoCA and an estimated 5% prevalence of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). The registry was randomly and proportionately sampled to make sure that all of Marikina City’s 16 local government units were represented. Permission to adapt and validate the MoCA was obtained from Prof. Luke’s Medical Center Institutional Ethics Review Committee. The study protocol was approved by the St. Marikina City maintains a registry of their senior citizens which has a listing of 17,690 elderly. This was a cross-sectional study conducted in Marikina City, a part of Metro Manila, Philippines.

This study aimed to determine the diagnostic validity of the Philippine version of the MoCA (MoCA-P) among urban community-dwelling elderly Filipinos, and the effects of age and education on MoCA-P performance.

The MoCA has been adapted and validated in various languages and cultures. That it contains items that measure executive functions makes it reportedly useful in the assessment of Vascular Cognitive Impairment (VCI) and in evaluating the cognitive functioning of patients with Parkinson’s Disease. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) was designed to detect mild cognitive impairment in those with normal MMSE scores, and therefore stands as a better screening instrument for early detection of mild dementia. Though commonly used, the MMSE does not detect mild cognitive impairment, thus a need for a more sensitive screening tool for detecting mild dementia. With a view to address these, the validated Philippine version of the Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE-P) was developed. Age and education factors are also considered, where appropriate cut-off scores are often used to adjust for difference in these demographic factors. Moreover, most cognitive tests are developed in the English language and grounded on western cultures, hence performance on these tests are known to be influenced by language and culture. Diagnosing dementia in its mild stage is a particular challenge in the Philippines where cognitive decline is generally dismissed as part of normal ageing, the elderly are excused from demanding mental activities, and access to specialists for timely diagnosis is limited. Conclusion: The MoCA-P is a valid instrument for the early detection of mild AD among the Filipino elderly.ĭementia is a global problem, with the majority of affected individuals living in developing countries in Asia. Two points are added to the MoCA-P score for those with ≤7 years of education. Logistic regression showed that the odds of scoring < 20 on the MoCA-P increased with advancing age and with education at ≤7 years (p < 0.05). The positive and negative likelihood ratios were 3.01 and 0.23, respectively and pre- and post-test odds were 0.0951 and 0.2224, respectively. The optimal cut-off score to differentiate controls from those with probable AD was 20/21, with a sensitivity of 0.835 and a specificity of 0.723, and area under the curve (AUC) of 0.89 (p < 0.001). Analysis of variance showed that the AD group was older (p < 0.05) and had fewer years of education (p < 0.05). Results: 509 controls and 97 elderly with probable AD and a Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) global score of 0.5 were included in the analysis. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the diagnostic validity of the Philippine version of the MoCA (MoCA-P) among 1385 community-dwelling Filipino elderly from Marikina City, Metro Manila.

Background: The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is a useful instrument employed by clinicians to detect cognitive impairment and diagnose probable Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) while in its early stages.

Moca test score 20