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Published in: Neurological Sciences 4/2019

01-04-2019 | Original Article

Comparison of alternate and original forms of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA): an Italian normative study

Authors: Mattia Siciliano, Carlo Chiorri, Carla Passaniti, Valeria Sant’Elia, Luigi Trojano, Gabriella Santangelo

Published in: Neurological Sciences | Issue 4/2019

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Abstract

Objective

The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is a screening test widely used in clinical practice and suited for detection of Mild Cognitive Impairment. Alternate forms of the MoCA were developed to avoid “learning effect” in serial assessments, and the present study aimed at investigating inter-form parallelism and at providing normative values for the Italian versions of MoCAs 2 and 3.

Method

Three separate convenience samples were recruited: the first (n = 78) completed three alternate MoCA versions for ascertaining inter-form parallelism; the second (n = 302) and the third (n = 413) samples were administered MoCA 2 or 3 to compute normative data.

Results

A three-step procedure complemented by confirmatory factor analysis and a mixed factorial ANOVA suggested that the three MoCA versions are not strictly parallel. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that age and education significantly influenced MoCA 2 and 3 total scores. No significant effect of sex was found. From the derived linear equation, correction grids for MoCA 2 and 3 raw scores were built and equivalent scores computed. Inferential cutoff for adjusted scores, estimated using a non-parametric technique, were 17.49 for MoCA 2 and 18.34 for MoCA 3. Correlation analysis showed strong correlations of MoCA 2 (r = 0.69, p < .001) and MoCA 3 (r = 0.61, p < .001) adjusted total scores with MMSE adjusted scores.

Conclusion

The three MoCA forms are not strictly parallel. Specifically developed normative data must be adopted for using MoCA in serial cognitive assessments for clinical and research studies.
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Metadata
Title
Comparison of alternate and original forms of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA): an Italian normative study
Authors
Mattia Siciliano
Carlo Chiorri
Carla Passaniti
Valeria Sant’Elia
Luigi Trojano
Gabriella Santangelo
Publication date
01-04-2019
Publisher
Springer International Publishing
Published in
Neurological Sciences / Issue 4/2019
Print ISSN: 1590-1874
Electronic ISSN: 1590-3478
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-019-3700-7

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