Evaluation of adult and elderly performance in MoCA and verbal fluency test in Recife-PE

Background: Considering the increase in life expectancy, the use of screening tests contributes to the detection of cognitive decline. However, different socioeconomic conditions can influence the performance of individuals. Objectives: To compare the performance of participants in the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and the Verbal Fluency Test (VFT), assessing the influence of schooling on the score. Design and setting: Cross-sectional, descriptive study, with 21 participants without cognitive complaints, between January and April 2021, in Recife, Pernambuco. Methods: Data were analyzed through SPSS software, Shapiro-Wilk test and Pearson’s correlation coefficient (PCC). Results: In all, 21 MoCA tests were applied (Average score: 19.8 points; SD = ± 4.3). The population has a mean age of 56.2 years (SD = ± 10.2), education of 11.8 years (SD = ± 3.5), and a predominance of females (93.5%). In the VFT, the total average performance resulted in 11.5 words (SD = ± 5.1), the first interval, 6.1 (SD = ± 2.5), the second, 2.8 (SD = ± 1, 9) and the third, 2.1 (SD = ± 2.1). There was a correlation between the performance in MoCA and VFT (PCC = 0.717; P = 0.01), and between performance and years of schooling (MoCA: PCC = 0.688; P = 0.01 vs VFT: PCC = 0.489; P = 0.02). Conclusions: Both tools were correlated with the participant’s level of education. However, VFT obtained a lower correlation