Abstract
The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is a screening tool highly sensitive to cognitive impairment in the elderly population. It evaluates multiple domains including the delayed memory, which allows calculate a Memory Index Score (MoCA-MIS), that may be a valuable tool to differentiate amnesic mild cognitive impairment from normal cognition in the elderly. The objective of this investigation was to analyze the relationship between the total scores for the MoCA (MoCA-TS) and the MoCA-MIS in Mexican elderly adults with cognitive impairment. Data of 58 subjects, 40 women and 18 men, were analyzed with a mean age of 75.7 (DE=7.5) and a mean education of 8 years (DE=5). The assessment tools were the MoCA, and additionally the Geriatric depression scale (GDS), and the General anxiety disorder 7 (GAD-7). The MoCA-TS correlated significantly with the MoCA-MIS (r= 0.663, p<0.01), indicating that the lower the MoCA-TS, the lower the MoCA-MIS. Age was significantly correlated with the MoCA-TS (r= -0.670, p<0.01), showing that age is a predictor of MoCA performance and level of impairment. No significant correlation was found between the total scores of the GDS and GAD-7 with the MoCA-TS, MoCA-MIS, or age. The results indicate that the MoCA-MIS could be taken as an indicator of possible cognitive decline in patients who, due to other factors, don’t reflect it in the total scores, guiding professionals to carry out a further evaluation. Although high levels of depression and anxiety have been associated with greater cognitive impairment in elderly people, in clinical practice the qualitative observations do not always correlate with the quantitative results of the tests used, this could be due to an incorrect administration of the instruments or poor comprehension by patients.
Presenters
Dulce EspinoNajla Mariel Ruiz Ortiz
Student, Licenciatura en Psicología, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Nuevo León, Mexico
