Comparison of Montreal Cognitive Assessment in Korean Version for Predicting Mild Cognitive Assessment in 65-Year and Over Individuals.
Chiang-Soon Song, Hye-Sun Lee, Byung-Yoon Chun
PMID 35521630WHAT IT FOUND
Two Korean versions of the MoCA screen older adults differently.
The MoCA-K caught more impairment cases, while the MoCA-K2 was better at confirming normal function. Neither version was perfect, so low scores should not be treated as a definitive diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment.
Key findings
01The MoCA-K had higher sensitivity (77.0%) for detecting cognitive impairment compared to the MoCA-K2 (68.9%), while the MoCA-K2 had higher specificity (80.0%) than the MoCA-K (78.0%).
02Both versions of the MoCA showed excellent internal consistency, with Cronbach's alpha values of 0.929 for the MoCA-K and 0.919 for the MoCA-K2.
03The study used the MMSE-K as the reference standard for defining cognitive impairment, assuming its cut-off score of 24 points was accurate, though the authors noted this premise may not be completely reliable.
STILL TO COME
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What it does not show
The study relied on the MMSE-K as the 'gold standard' for defining cognitive impairment, but the MMSE-K is not designed to diagnose mild cognitive impairment and may not accurately discriminate it. The 3-day interval between tests may not have been sufficient to prevent learning effects, potentially inflating scores on the second test. The study did not assess test-retest reliability or include clinical diagnoses by specialists to confirm the presence of mild cognitive impairment. Participants were excluded if they had physical impairments, depression, or were taking certain medications, so results may not apply to older adults with these common conditions.
Declared interests
No funding sources or conflicts of interest were reported in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume the MoCA-K and MoCA-K2 are interchangeable. The MoCA-K catches more potential impairment cases but has more false positives, while the MoCA-K2 misses more true cases but is more accurate when it identifies impairment. Neither tool is definitive, and scores should be interpreted with caution due to the reliance on the MMSE-K as a reference standard.