Abstract
Objective: To report descriptive and normative data for the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) in a population-based African American sample. Method: The MoCA was administered to 1,419 African American participants (mean age 49.89 years, range 18-75, 64% female). After excluding those with subjective cognitive complaints (n = 301), normative data were generated by education and overlapping age ranges (n = 1,118). Pearson correlations and analysis of variance were used to examine the relationship to demographic variables, and frequency of missed items was reviewed. Results: Total MoCA scores (mean 22.3, SD 3.9) were lower than previously published normative data derived from an elderly Caucasian Canadian population with 80% falling below the suggested cutoff (<26) for impairment. Several MoCA items were missed by a large portion of the sample, including cube drawing (72%), delayed free recall (66% <4/5 words), sentence repetition (63%), and abstraction items (45%). Conclusion: This is the first study to examine normative performance on the MoCA specific to community-dwelling African Americans. Findings suggest that certain aspects of this measure and previously established cutoff scores may not be well-suited for some populations.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 238-244 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology |
Volume | 32 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2017 |
Keywords
- Aging
- Assessment
- Mild cognitive impairment
- Minority
- Normative studies
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
- Psychiatry and Mental health