Validation and Reliability of the Turkish Version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment-Basic (MoCA-B) in Individuals With Low Educational Level (MoCA-B Turkish)

The prevalence of dementia is steadily increasing, and recognizing cognitive impairment at an early stage-especially during mild cognitive impairment (MCI), before full diagnostic criteria for dementia are met-is crucial. Cognitive screening tools used in individuals with low educational levels often fail to detect MCI. The illiterate version of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) is insufficient for identifying MCI and early dementia, resulting in delayed diagnosis. The MoCA-Basic (MoCA-B), adapted for low-educated populations and translated into Turkish, has not undergone a validation and reliability study; therefore, it is not routinely used in clinical practice. This study aimed to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Turkish MoCA- B in detecting MCI and dementia, and to compare its diagnostic performance with the MMSE and the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR).

This study included 55 patients with MCI, 56 with dementia, and 55 healthy controls (total n=166) who presented to the Dementia and Neurology Clinics of Antalya Training and Research Hospital between January 2024 and November 2025. After a detailed mental status examination, participants underwent MoCA-B, MMSE (illiterate version), and CDR assessments. Internal consistency was measured using Cronbach's alpha, and test-retest reliability using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Group differences were analyzed with one-way ANOVA and Tukey post hoc testing. Correlations between MoCA-B, MMSE, and CDR were evaluated with Pearson correlation. Diagnostic accuracy was assessed through ROC analyses, and optimal cut- off values were determined using the Youden index.