Screening for mild cognitive impairment and dementia using Montreal cognitive assessment -Basic in illiterate and low educated community dwelling Egyptian elderly

Abstract

Introduction: Few studies have examined the performance of cognitive assessment tools in elderly with limited education particulary Mild cognitive impairment which is a clinical transitional state between normal cognitive aging and the initial pathological features of dementia. Objective: To detect the psychometric properties of Arabic MOCA- B in screening for mild cognitive impairment among illiterate and low educated community dwelling elderly. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among 310 elderly, 60 years and older, illiterate and low educated community dwelling elderly. All subjects were assessed using the Montreal cognitive assessment basic (MoCA-B), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale (CDR). Results: The recommended cut off values of MOCA B test to detect MCI among illiterates was 20 out of 30 points with 100% sensitivity and 97.46 % specificity and 21 points with 100% sensitivity and 95.71% specificity among low educated elderly. Conclusion: The Arabic MoCA-B is an accurate cognitive assessment tool in diagnosing MCI among illiterates and low educated elderly. Keywords: Dementia, MCI, MOCA- B.