Educational level and age significantly predicted Montreal Cognitive Assessment scores, explaining 49% of the variance, while subjective memory complaints explained 9%.
Cross-Sectional (n=650)
Education and age have a major impact on MoCA scores, explaining nearly half of the variance in cognitively healthy adults.
The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is a brief cognitive instrument for screening milder forms of cognitive impairment. The present study aimed to analyze the influence of sociodemographic (age, gender, educational level, marital and employment status, geographic region, geographic localization, and residence area) and health variables (subjective memory complaints of the participant and evaluated by the informant, depressive symptoms, and family history of dementia) on the participants' performance on the MoCA. The investigation was carried out in a Portuguese community-based sample of 650 cognitively healthy adults, who were representative of the distribution observed in the Portuguese population. Educational level and age significantly contributed to the prediction of the MoCA scores, explaining 49% of the variance. Regarding health variables, only the subjective memory complaints of the participant showed a small contribution (9%) to the variance on the MoCA scores. This study contributes a useful approach to understanding MoCA performance, stressing the great impact of education and age on scores.
Freitas et al. (Tue,) conducted a cross-sectional in Cognitively healthy adults (n=650). Sociodemographic and health variables was evaluated on Variance in Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scores. Educational level and age significantly predicted Montreal Cognitive Assessment scores, explaining 49% of the variance, while subjective memory complaints explained 9%.