Strengths and Limitations of the MoCA for Assessing Cognitive Functioning: Findings From a Large Representative Sample of Irish Older Adults

Background: The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is a very widely used test for mild cognitive impairment. Differing recommendations have been made regarding its utility in providing a profile of performance across several cognitive domains. Objectives: To examine the factor structure of the MoCA in a nationally representative population study of older Irish adults and evaluate its utility in providing domain-specific information. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis of wave 1 data from the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing was undertaken. Data from a subset of 2342 participants assessed using the MoCA were analyzed using both confirmatory factor analytic (CFA) and exploratory factor analytic (EFA) methods. Results: Mean age was 72.64 (range 65 to 98), 53% female. The CFA provided evidence of adequate overall model fit for a previously proposed 6-factor model. In contrast, EFA yielded a 3-factor solution and test items cross-loaded onto a number of factors with no clear pattern of underlying cognitive domains. Using EFA to explore the 6-factor model yielded good fit, but again test items cross-loaded onto a number of factors with no clear pattern evident. Conclusion: Lack of concordance between the CFA and EFA findings demonstrates that the correspondence between individual tests and their assumed cognitive domains is not robust, reflecting at least in part a current lack of consensus on how core cognitive constructs are defined and on what subcomponents can be subsumed under different cognitive domains. The MoCA should not be viewed as a substitute for more in-depth neuropsychological assessment when domain-specific information is required.