Validation of the visual impairment versions of the Cantonese mini-mental State Examination (CMMSE-VI) and the Hong Kong Montreal Cognitive Assessment (HKMoCA-VI)

Abstract

The study validated Visual Impairment Versions of the Cantonese Mini-Mental State Examination (CMMSE-VI) and the Hong Kong Montreal Cognitive Assessment (HKMoCA-VI). Fifty-one visually impaired elderly were assigned into three groups according to their cognitive abilities: a dementia (DM) group, a mild cognitive impairment (MCI) group and a normal control (NR) group. They completed both CMMSE-VI and HKMoCA-VI orally. Test scores obtained were analyzed to examine and compare the discriminative power of the CMMSE-VI and the HKMoCA-VI for screening MCI and dementia. Reliability, validity and ceiling effect of the tests were examined. The cut-off scores of both CMMSE-VI and HKMoCA-VI were suggested. Results showed that both CMMSE-VI and HKMoCA-VI are feasible, valid and reliable brief cognitive screening tools in detecting dementia. The HKMoCA-VI is recommended as a better screening tool in detecting dementia than the CMMSE-VI because its items showed greater discriminative power in identifying dementia. However, the HKMoCA-VI was not proved to be more sensitive than the CMMSE-VI in identifying MCI.