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39/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 39 out of 100. Getting a diagnosis

Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies

Plain-language summary

Participants had age mean = 81.7, SD = 4.5, range=75-93; educational attainment mean = 14.6, SD = 4.0, range=7-22, 17.2% < 12; 86.2% were women. The MoCA score had mean = 22.2, SD = 4.0, range=14-27; MMSE score had mean = 27.2, SD = 2.1, range = 22-30. Among those with educational attainment below high school (n = 5), MoCA score had mean = 15.6, SD=1.5, median = 15.0, range=14-18; and MMSE score had mean = 25.0, SD = 2.3, median = 26, range=22-27. While higher MoCA score was significantly associated with younger age (r = -.406, p = .029) and higher education (r = .496, p = .006), MMSE associations were nonsignificant for age and education (r = -.313, p = .098; r=.328, p = .083, respectively). MoCA and MMSE were significantly associated (partial r=.425, p = .027). Consistent with previous findings in young-old Blacks/African Americans compared to their White counterparts, our very old sample showed poorer performance on the MoCA compared to the MMSE. These results were strongest among those who did not complete a high school degree. In this population, false-positive results can be minimized with careful interpretation of both MoCA and MMSE performance. Due to the small sample, these results should be interpreted with caution. However, they do suggest that, until better screening tools are developed for this population, researchers and clinicians should consider the use of the MMSE.

Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris

APA 7th

Guerrero‐Berroa, E., Love, K., Phillips, R. S. C., & Haroutunian, V. H. (2025). Comparison of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment and the Mini‐Mental State Examination in community‐dwelling very old Blacks/African Americans. Alzheimer s & Dementia. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz70860_103916

Vancouver

Guerrero‐Berroa E, Love K, Phillips RSC, Haroutunian VH. Comparison of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment and the Mini‐Mental State Examination in community‐dwelling very old Blacks/African Americans. Alzheimer s & Dementia. 2025. doi:10.1002/alz70860_103916. PMID: 41434408.

BibTeX

@article{guerreroberroa2025-41434408,
  author  = {Guerrero‐Berroa, Elizabeth and Love, Kim and Phillips, Ruby S. C. and Haroutunian, Vahram H.},
  title   = {{Comparison of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment and the Mini‐Mental State Examination in community‐dwelling very old Blacks/African Americans}},
  journal = {Alzheimer s \& Dementia},
  year    = {2025},
  doi     = {10.1002/alz70860_103916},
  pmid    = {41434408},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1002/alz70860_103916}
}

Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.

How to read this study

Design: our record does not state a study design, so check the methods section of the original before weighing the result.
Size: the record gives no participant count. Look for one in the original before trusting a pattern.
Effect: the record reports “17.2%; 86.2%”. A statistically significant result can still be small in daily life.

What the evidence grade means here

This page is graded low. alzhub.org assigns the grade automatically from keywords in the abstract, not from reading the paper. Low means the abstract matched neither pattern. It is the default label, and it does not mean the work is poor; many sound lab and imaging papers land here. It can add at most 5 of the 100 points in the study score, and it is a label about design, not a verdict on whether the findings are true.

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Key findings

Participants had age mean = 81.7, SD = 4.5, range=75-93; educational attainment mean = 14.6, SD = 4.0, range=7-22, 17.2% < 12; 86.2% were women.
The MoCA score had mean = 22.2, SD = 4.0, range=14-27; MMSE score had mean = 27.2, SD = 2.1, range = 22-30.
Among those with educational attainment below high school (n = 5), MoCA score had mean = 15.6, SD=1.5, median = 15.0, range=14-18; and MMSE score had mean = 25.0, SD = 2.3, median = 26, range=22-27.
While higher MoCA score was significantly associated with younger age (r = -.406, p = .029) and higher education (r = .496, p = .006), MMSE associations were nonsignificant for age and education (r = -.313, p = .098; r=.328, p = .083, respectively).
MoCA and MMSE were significantly associated (partial r=.425, p = .027).

Why it matters

In this small sample of very old Black/African American adults, MoCA scores were lower than MMSE scores, especially among those without a high school degree, and MoCA was associated with age and education while MMSE was not. The authors caution that results should be interpreted with caution due to the small sample, and the study addresses cognitive screening rather than treatment or prevention.

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Study details

Effect size17.2%; 86.2%
Evidence strengthLow

How this study scored 39/100

Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, studied in people and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	7 / 10	Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Alzheimer s & Dementia)
Journal's citation record	2 / 4	Alzheimer s & Dementia: journal h-index 228 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29)
Study design	0 / 12	No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Strength of evidence	1 / 5	Rated “low” in our summary
Peer-review validation	10 / 10	Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal.
How recent	4 / 5	2025 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	0 / 4	Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Effect reported	2 / 3	Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test
Studied in people	0 / 3	Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Randomized / blinded	0 / 2	No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Times cited	1 / 7	Cited 1 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	0 / 5	0.3 citations a year over 3 year(s) since 2025
Impact for its field and year	1 / 6	Cited 0.6× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	0 / 6	No other study in this library cites it
Still being cited	0 / 4	Cited 1 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	4 / 4	Last-listed author Vahram H. Haroutunian: h-index 107 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	1 / 3	Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai: institution h-index 1,331 (OpenAlex)
Multicenter collaboration	2 / 3	OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 1 country
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 41434408)
Free to read	2 / 2	Free to read
Total	39 / 100	—

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Read the original

Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).

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