Early MoCA predicts long-term cognitive and functional outcome and mortality after stroke

Objective: To examine whether the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) administered within 7 days after stroke predicts long-term cognitive impairment, functional impairment, and mortality.
Methods: MoCA was administered to 274 patients from two prospective hospital-based cohort studies in Germany (n=125) and France (n=149). Cognitive and functional outcomes were assessed at 6, 12 and 36 months post-stroke by comprehensive neuropsychological testing, the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) scale, modified Rankin Scale (mRS), and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL), and analyzed using generalized estimating equations. All-cause mortality was investigated by Cox proportional hazard models. Analyses were adjusted for demographic variables, education, vascular risk factors, premorbid cognitive status, and NIH Stroke Scale scores. The additive predictive value of MoCA was examined using receiver operating characteristic curves.
Results: In pooled analyses a baseline MoCA <26 was a...