Is the Korean version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA-K) a valid and reliable tool for screening mild cognitive impairment in elderly outpatients?
The MoCA-K is a brief, reliable, and valid screening tool for detecting mild cognitive impairment in elderly outpatients, demonstrating excellent sensitivity and good specificity.
The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is a brief cognitive screening tool with high sensitivity for screening patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The authors examined the validity and reliability of the Korean version of the MoCA (MoCA-K) in elderly outpatients. The MoCA-K, a Korean version of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) scale, and neuropsychological batteries were administered to 196 elderly persons (mild Alzheimer's disease AD = 44, MCI = 37, normal controls NC = 115). MoCA-K scores were highly correlated with those of MMSE and CDR. Using a cutoff score of 22/23, the MoCA-K had an excellent sensitivity of 89% and a good specificity of 84% for screening MCI. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability were good. The results obtained show that the MoCA-K is brief, reliable, and suitable for use as a screening tool to screen MCI patients in elderly outpatient clinic settings.
Lee et al. (2008) studied this question.