A total of 50 VA older adults were interviewed two participants were excluded from this analysis because visual impairment prevented them from completing the MoCA test, resulting in a final sample of 48 older adults. The survey included a wide array of questions about physical and mental health, awareness of Alzheimer’s Disease, etc., that took approximately 90 minutes to complete. The upper age limit was due to the number of older adults aged 90+ who had visual or hearing impairments and could not complete the survey during pre-test. Participants were selected from members of a local elder club, using the following criteria: (1) be Vietnamese American aged 60 to 90 (2) reside in the New Orleans metropolitan area and (3) can hear, see, and read. The interviews took place in January-March 2020. Ethical approval (No. 2018-2046) was obtained from the Tulane University’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) participants provided verbal consent prior to the interview. This validation study employed data from structured surveys with VA older adults in the New Orleans area. This present study seeks to fill this gap by assessing the performance of this test with a community-based sample of Vietnamese American (VA) older adults aged 60+ in the New Orleans area.

Therefore, effective early detection of cognitive decline, using appropriately validated test such as the MoCA, is important for this population as the MoCA test in Vietnamese has not been validated with a community-based sample for early MCI screening.

14 These co-morbid factors can put Vietnamese older adults at an increased risk of cognitive decline. In addition, Asian Americans in general are at a particularly high risk for viral hepatitis. 13 VAs also have markedly higher incidences of cervical and liver cancer compared to any other ethnic groups. For instance, compared to other Asian American subgroups, VA women had the highest rates of stroke and dementia. Several medical conditions associated with increased risks of cognitive decline were common among Vietnamese. 9–11 A recent study of the MoCA test in Vietnamese included a very small sample (n=7) of Vietnamese older adults who had been diagnosed with dementia or neurocognitive disorder. 5–7 Research with a community-based sample, where the MoCA and MMSE scores were compared 8 or the internal reliability and construct validity of the MoCA test were examined remains limited. 4 In more recent validations of the MoCA test in languages other than English, the test scores were also compared between groups with and without a clinical diagnosis of cognitive impairment. In many studies, the MoCA test and subtests have primarily been validated against either a clinical diagnosis or the Mini Mental Status Examination (MMSE) score, another tool also widely used for MCI screening. Koski 3 summarized this literature within the context of cerebrovascular diseases, where cognitive impairment is a common consequence. With a score between 0 and 30 points, the MoCA has the ability to assess multiple cognitive domains 1,2 it has been used in more than 200 countries in different languages, and available for clinical and educational use from Many researchers have validated the MoCA test the vast majority of such studies were with patient populations - those at risk or already diagnosed with cognitive impairments. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) 1 is a simple and user friendly tool widely used for screening mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a transitional stage between normal aging and dementia.

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