T-MoCA: A Valid Phone Screen for Cognitive Impairment in Diverse Community Samples

Overview

Journal Alzheimers Dement (Amst)

Date 2021 Feb 18

PMID 33598528

Citations 75

Authors

Mindy J Katz

Cuiling Wang

Caroline O Nester

Carol A Derby

Molly E Zimmerman

Richard B Lipton

Martin J Sliwinski

Laura A Rabin

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Introduction: There is an urgent need to validate telephone versions of widely used general cognitive measures, such as the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (T-MoCA), for remote assessments.

Methods: In the Einstein Aging Study, a diverse community cohort (n = 428; mean age = 78.1; 66% female; 54% non-White), equivalence testing was used to examine concordance between the T-MoCA and the corresponding in-person MoCA assessment. Receiver operating characteristic analyses examined the diagnostic ability to discriminate between mild cognitive impairment and normal cognition. Conversion methods from T-MoCA to the MoCA are presented.

Results: Education, race/ethnicity, gender, age, self-reported cognitive concerns, and telephone administration difficulties were associated with both modes of administration; however, when examining the difference between modalities, these factors were not significant. Sensitivity and specificity for the T-MoCA (using Youden's index optimal cut) were 72% and 59%, respectively.

Discussion: The T-MoCA demonstrated sufficient psychometric properties to be useful for screening of MCI, especially when clinic visits are not feasible.

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