Author(s)

Jacqueline C. Dominguez, Jennifer Rose Soriano, Cely D. Magpantay, Mary Grace S. Orquiza, Wynette Marie Solis, Macario F. Reandelar Jr., Ma. Lourdes C. Joson

Memory Center, Institute for Neurosciences, St. Luke’s Medical Center, Quezon City, Philippines.

Background: The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is a useful instrument employed by clinicians to detect cognitive impairment and diagnose probable Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) while in its early stages. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the diagnostic validity of the Philippine version of the MoCA (MoCA-P) among 1385 community-dwelling Filipino elderly from Marikina City, Metro Manila. Results: 509 controls and 97 elderly with probable AD and a Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) global score of 0.5 were included in the analysis. Analysis of variance showed that the AD group was older (p < 0.05) and had fewer years of education (p < 0.05). The optimal cut-off score to differentiate controls from those with probable AD was 20/21, with a sensitivity of 0.835 and a specificity of 0.723, and area under the curve (AUC) of 0.89 (p < 0.001). The positive and negative likelihood ratios were 3.01 and 0.23, respectively; and pre- and post-test odds were 0.0951 and 0.2224, respectively. Logistic regression showed that the odds of scoring < 20 on the MoCA-P increased with advancing age and with education at ≤7 years (p < 0.05). Two points are added to the MoCA-P score for those with ≤7 years of education. Conclusion: The MoCA-P is a valid instrument for the early detection of mild AD among the Filipino elderly.

Alzheimer Disease, Filipino, MoCA-P, Validation

Dominguez, J. , Soriano, J. , Magpantay, C. , Orquiza, M. , Solis, W. , Reandelar Jr., M. and Joson, M. (2014) Early Detection of Mild Alzheimer’s Disease in Filipino Elderly: Validation of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment-Philippines (MoCA-P). Advances in Alzheimer's Disease, 3, 160-167. doi: 10.4236/aad.2014.34015.