ArticleThe Clinical neuropsychologist2023
Classification statistics of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA): Are we interpreting the MoCA correctly?
Article in The Clinical neuropsychologist, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
28 citing papers in PubMed.
- Early Retinal UCHL1 Dysregulation Coupled With Synaptic Loss Reflects Alzheimer's Disease Severity.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Screen time patterns and cognitive screening outcomes (MoCA-Ina) in adolescents: a cross-sectional study.BMC neurology · 2026Observational
- Perioperative neurocognitive disorders in older patients: a narrative review of current knowledge in 2026.Perioperative medicine (London, England) · 2026Review
- Assessing the Utility of Automated and Pen-And-Paper Cognitive Assessment Tools for Underrepresented Groups in the UK.International journal of geriatric psychiatry · 2026Article
- Sex-specific retina-brain signatures link ERα/ERβ imbalance with gliosis in Alzheimer's disease.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- The Montreal Cognitive Assessment at the Framingham Heart Study: A Re-Examination of the Norms.Brain and behavior · 2026Article
- Serum magnesium level is associated with cognitive function among the elderly in Palestine, a cross-sectional study.BMC research notes · 2026Article
- Resting state EEG mediates the association between physical activity and cognitive function in cognitively impaired elderly.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Article
- Determinants Of Cognitive Impairment Among Older Adults In Hanoi, Vietnam: Insights From The Montreal Cognitive Assessment.Clinical neuropsychiatry · 2026Article
- Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) Scale: Strengths, Limitations, and Implication for Clinical Practice.Iranian journal of psychiatry · 2026Review
- Beyond the cut-off: measurement bias, calibration, and fairness in mild cognitive impairment screening.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- A pilot study of at-home online cognitive screening prior to primary care wellness visits for older adults.Frontiers in digital health · 2026Article
- Cognitive Function 1 Year After COVID Infection.Open forum infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Cognitive Risk Stratification Score in Middle-aged and Older Adults With Type 2 Diabetes: A Cross-Sectional Study.The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2025Article
- Quantification of Motor Learning in Hand Adjustability Movements: An Evaluation Variable for Discriminant Cognitive Decline.IEEE journal of translational engineering in health and medicine · 2025Article
- Ethnic disparities in patients with early-onset Alzheimer's disease (EOAD).Frontiers in neurology · 2025Article
- Cultural Effects on the Performance of Older Haitian Immigrants on Timed Cognitive Tests.Medical research archives · 2024Article
- Asian flush gene variant increases mild cognitive impairment risk: a cross-sectional study of the Yoshinogari Brain MRI Checkup Cohort.Environmental health and preventive medicine · 2024Article
- The effect of probiotics on select cognitive domains in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of Alzheimer's disease reports · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveThe Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is a common cognitive screener for detecting mild cognitive impairment (MCI). However, previously suggested cutoff scores of 26/30 and above is often criticized and lacks racial diversity. The purpose of this study is to investigate the potential influence of race on MoCA classification cutoff score accuracy.
methodData were obtained from the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center (NACC) Uniform Data Set and yielded 4,758 total participants. Participants were predominately White (82.8%) and female (61.7%) with a mean age of 69.3 years (
resultsSensitivity and specificity analyses revealed that when using the cutoff score of ≤26/30, the MoCA correctly classified 73.2% of White cognitively normal participants and 83.1% of White MCI participants. In contrast, this criterion correctly classified 40.5% of Black cognitively normal participants and 90.8% of Black MCI participants. Our sample was highly educated; therefore, we did not observe significant differences in scores when accounting for education across race. Classification statistics are presented.
conclusionsBlack participants were misclassified at a higher rate than White participants when applying the ≤26/30 cutoff score. We suggest cutoff scores of ≤25/30 be applied to White persons and ≤22/30 for Black persons. These findings highlight the need for racially stratified population-based norms given the high misclassification of Black participants without such adjustment.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.