title: The Montreal Cognitive Assessment in cognitively-intact elderly: a case for age-adjusted cutoffs.
abstract: The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is a widely used screening test for evaluation of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), with a single cutoff for all ages. We examined whether it is associated with age in a sample of cognitively-intact elderly (CIE). The average MoCA score was negatively correlated with age and was significantly higher for younger than older CIE. Additionally, 42% of the older elderly fell below the proposed MCI cutoff score, although all subjects were CIE. Thus, cognitive abilities captured by the MoCA test decrease with age, even in CIE. Therefore, cutoff scores by age for the MoCA are needed.
authors: Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel Functional Brain Center, Wohl Institute for Advanced Imaging, Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel-Aviv, Israel Center for Memory and Attention Disorders, Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel Department of Neurology, Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors: Noga
authors: N
authors: Oren
authors: Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel Functional Brain Center, Wohl Institute for Advanced Imaging, Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel-Aviv, Israel.
authors: Galit
authors: G
authors: Yogev-Seligmann
authors: Center for Memory and Attention Disorders, Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel Department of Neurology, Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors: Elissa
authors: E
authors: Ash
authors: Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel Functional Brain Center, Wohl Institute for Advanced Imaging, Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel-Aviv, Israel Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel School of Psychological Sciences, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors: Talma
authors: T
authors: Hendler
authors: Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel Center for Memory and Attention Disorders, Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel Department of Neurology, Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors: Nir
authors: N
authors: Giladi
authors: Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel Functional Brain Center, Wohl Institute for Advanced Imaging, Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel-Aviv, Israel Department of Neurology, Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors: Yulia
authors: Y
authors: Lerner
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction / Q000175:diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012016:Reference Values
keywords: Aging; MCI; MOCA; cognition; screening