Longitudinal Change in Performance on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment in Older Adults
- 18 August 2015
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Informa UK Limited in The Clinical Neuropsychologist
- Vol. 29 (6), 824-835
- https://doi.org/10.1080/13854046.2015.1087596
Abstract
Objective: The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is a brief screening measure commonly used to determine cognitive status among older adults. Despite the popularity of the MoCA, there has been little research into how performance on the MoCA changes over time in healthy older adults. Methods: The present study examined a sample of older adults (n = 53) recruited for a longitudinal study of healthy aging. Change in total MoCA score at three time points (baseline, 12 months, and 48 months) and scores from the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status at five time points (RBANS; baseline 12 months, 24 months, 36 months, and 48 months) were assessed using repeated measures analyses. Results: Total MoCA score significantly increased across time, particularly between the first and second administrations. Scores did not significantly differ between the second (12 month) and third (48 month) administrations. When grouped by baseline performance, individuals who scored low at baseline significantly improved performance at 12-month testing, but had little change between 12- and 48-month testing. Conversely, individuals who scored high at baseline did not significantly change between baseline and 12-month testing, but improved between 12- and 48-month testing. RBANS scores did not significantly change over time. Conclusions: These results suggest that the MoCA may be susceptible to practice effects, particularly between the first and second administrations. These practice effects should be taken into consideration when repeatedly employing the MoCA to screen for cognitive status in healthy older adults.Keywords
Funding Information
- National Center for Research Resources (UL1 TR000448)
- National Institute of Mental Health (R21 MH090494)
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (R01 NS039538, R01 NS052470)
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