MoCA Is More Sensitive Than MMSE for Detection of MCI

Background: Many clinicians use the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) or the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) to screen for dementia. Both are easy to administer, take 10 to 15 minutes to perform, have 30 items, and are widely available. The MoCA has been stated to be more useful for detecting mild cognitive impairment (MCI). How accurate is it? Objective: To evaluate the accuracy of the MoCA at different cutoff scores for screening to detect MCI/MND (mild neurocognitive disorder) in general practice settings. Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: Studies meeting criteria were performed in general screening or mixed populations who were administered the MoCA, with scores adjusted for education; provided measures of sensitivity and specificity; and used the validated Petersen criteria for aging, memory, and MCI—PubMed (nih.gov)—for diagnosis of MCI/MND. These criteria for the diagnosis of MCI/MND published in 1997 are still in general use today and a more...