Dutch Depressed Elderly and Performance on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment: an Outpatient Study.

Abstract

Background: The aim of the current study was to investigate the performance of outclinic Dutch depressed elderly on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) from the geriatric psychiatry department; depression is a possible risk factor for dementia, therefore screening for cognitive impairment is advisory. It concerns performance over time and compared to healthy controls and patients with a depression in remission. Participants: at most 65 patients (Mage = 73, 42% males, 58% females) and 81 controls (Mage = 72, 42% males, 58% females) participated, sample sizes varied among analyses. Methods: longitudinal and cross-sectional designs were used to test hypotheses. Partial correlation, regression analysis and ANOVAs were part of data analyses. Results: on average the total MoCA score of patients was 22, but over time, correlation between severity of depression and MoCA was non-significant, p = .452. Subjective cognitive complaints had no significant correlation to MoCA score, p > .05. Patients showed more errors on particular domains of the MoCA and in total compared to healthy controls, p <.017 (adj. α). Conclusions: The MoCA shows sensitivity for depression in total and on particular domains connected to depression. Further research is needed to confirm or reject other findings.