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Montreal cognitive assessment in detecting cognitive impairment in Chinese elderly individuals: a population-based study
Lu J, Li D, Li F, Zhou A, Wang F, Zuo X, Jia XF, Song H et al.. Journal of geriatric psychiatry and neurology, 2011-12-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) has been proved brief and sensitive to screen for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and early dementia in some developed countries or areas. However, little MoCA data are available from mainland China. In this study, the MoCA was applied to 8411 Chinese community dwellers aged 65 or older (6283 = cognitively normal [CN], 1687 = MCI, and 441 = dementia). The MoCA norms were established considering significant influential factors. The optimal cutoff points were 13/14 for illiterate individuals, 19/20 for individuals with 1 to 6 years of education, and 24/25 for individuals with 7 or more years of education. With the optimal cutoffs, the sensitivity of the MoCA was 83.8% for all cognitive impairments, 80.5% for MCI and 96.9% for dementia, and the specificity for identifying CN was 82.5%. These indicate that with optimal cutoffs, the MoCA is valid to screen for cognitive impairment in elderly Chinese living in communities.
Key findings
- The MoCA norms were established considering significant influential factors.
- These indicate that with optimal cutoffs, the MoCA is valid to screen for cognitive impairment in elderly Chinese living in communities.
Why it matters
This population-based study of 8411 Chinese community dwellers aged 65 or older found that the Montreal Cognitive Assessment was valid for screening cognitive impairment, with sensitivity of 80.5% for mild cognitive impairment and 96.9% for dementia. It does not test any treatment, cure or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Effect size83.8%; 80.5%; 96.9%
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 48/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of geriatric psychiatry and neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 1 / 4 | Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology: journal h-index 105 (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 | 1 / 5 | 2011 — within 20 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) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 585 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 34.4 citations a year over 17 year(s) since 2011 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 4.5× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 20 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 4 / 4 | Cited 265 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Jianping Jia: h-index 61 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 0 / 3 | University of Otago: institution h-index 665 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 22228824) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 48 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Lu, J., Li, D., Li, F., Zhou, A., Wang, F., Zuo, X., et al. (2011). Montreal cognitive assessment in detecting cognitive impairment in Chinese elderly individuals: a population-based study. Journal of geriatric psychiatry and neurology. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891988711422528
Vancouver
Lu J, Li D, Li F, Zhou A, Wang F, Zuo X, et al. Montreal cognitive assessment in detecting cognitive impairment in Chinese elderly individuals: a population-based study. Journal of geriatric psychiatry and neurology. 2011. doi:10.1177/0891988711422528. PMID: 22228824.
BibTeX
@article{lu2011-22228824,
author = {Lu, J. and Li, D. and Li, F. and Zhou, A. and Wang, F. and Zuo, X. and Jia, X. F. and Song, H. and others},
title = {{Montreal cognitive assessment in detecting cognitive impairment in Chinese elderly individuals: a population-based study}},
journal = {Journal of geriatric psychiatry and neurology},
year = {2011},
doi = {10.1177/0891988711422528},
pmid = {22228824},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1177/0891988711422528}
}
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