Relationship between the Montreal Cognitive Assessment and Mini-mental State Examination for assessment of mild cognitive impairment in older adults

Table 1 Comparison of similar items between MMSE and MoCA

Domain names	MMSE		MoCA
Domain names	Items	Points	Items	Points
Orientation	Orientation to time and place	10	Orientation to time and place	6
Attention and Calculation	Spell WORLD backwards^a	5	Serial 7’s	6
			Vigilance test for letter “A”
			Digit span (5 forward, 3 backward)
Comprehension/Executive Function	Follow 3-stage command	4	Verbal fluency for letter F	4
			Trailmaking Test (brief version)
			Abstraction (word similarities)
	Read and obey command		Abstraction (word similarities)
Core	Naming (pencil, watch)	6	Naming (lion, rhinoceros, camel)	12
	Recall (>10 s delay, 3 words),		Naming (lion, rhinoceros, camel)
	Recall (>10 s delay, 3 words),		Recall (5 words after 5 min delay)
	Visuoconstructional (copy intersecting pentagons)		Recall (5 words after 5 min delay)
	Visuoconstructional (copy intersecting pentagons)		Visuoconstructional (copy cube and draw clock face)
Items not included in domains selected for our analysis	Registration (3 trials, 3 words)	5	Repetition (2 longer sentences)	2
	Repetition (1 short sentence)
	Write a sentence
Total Score		30		30

Items were selected to comprise domains used in stepwise regression analyses to distinguish MCI from HC subjects
ADNI Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, HC healthy control, MCI mild cognitive impairment, MMSE Mini-mental State Exam, MoCA Montreal Cognitive Assessment
^aSerial 7’s were not used for Attention and calculation in the MMSE in ADNI