STUDY DESIGN: A review of articles was performed.
METHODS: A search strategy was used by using electronic bibliographic databases including PubMed, Embase and CENTRAL for published studies and reference list of published studies. The articles were exported to a bibliographic database for further screening process. Two reviewers worked independently to screen results and extract data from the included studies. Any discrepancies were resolved and confirmed by the consensus of all authors.
RESULTS: There were three screening approaches for detecting MCI and dementia - screening by a healthcare provider, screening by a self-administered questionnaire and caretaker informant screening. Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) was the most common and preferable tool for MCI screening (sensitivity [Sn]: 81-97%; specificity [Sp]: 60-86%), whereas Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination (ACE) was the preferable tool for dementia screening (Sn: 79-100%; Sp: 86%).
CONCLUSION: This systematic review found that there are three screening approaches for detecting early dementia and MCI at primary health care. ACE and MoCA are recommended tools for screening of dementia and MCI, respectively.
METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This is a community-based feasibility study focused on the assessment of cognition, embedded in the longitudinal study of health and demographic surveillance site of the South East Asia Community Observatory (SEACO), in Malaysia. In total, 200 adults aged ≥50 years are selected for an in-depth health and cognitive assessment including the Mini Mental State Examination, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, blood pressure, anthropometry, gait speed, hand grip strength, Depression Anxiety Stress Score and dried blood spots.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: The results will inform the feasibility, response rates and operational challenges for establishing an ageing study focused on cognitive function in similar middle-income country settings. Knowing the burden of cognitive impairment and dementia and risk factors for disease will inform local health priorities and management, and place these within the context of increasing life expectancy.
ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study protocol is approved by the Monash University Human Research Ethics Committee. Informed consent is obtained from all the participants. The project's analysed data and findings will be made available through publications and conference presentations and a data sharing archive. Reports on key findings will be made available as community briefs on the SEACO website.
METHODS: Five electronic databases (CINAHL, MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Science Direct) were searched using the keywords dementia Or Alzheimer Or cognitive impairment And screen Or measure Or test Or tool Or instrument Or assessment, and 2,381 articles were obtained.
RESULTS: Thirty-eight articles, evaluating 28 tools in seven Asian languages, were included. Twenty-nine (76%) of the studies had been conducted in East Asia with only four studies conducted in South Asia and no study from northern, western, or central Asia or Indochina. Local language translations of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) were assessed in 15 and six studies respectively. Only three tools (the Korean Dementia Screening Questionnaire, the Picture-based Memory Intelligence Scale, and the revised Hasegawa Dementia Screen) were derived de novo from Asian populations. These tools were assessed in five studies. Highly variable cut-offs were reported for the MMSE (17-29/30) and MoCA (21-26/30), with 13/19 (68%) of studies reporting educational bias.
CONCLUSIONS: Few cognitive assessment tools have been validated in Asia, with no published validation studies for many Asian nations and languages. In addition, many available tools display educational bias. Future research should include concerted efforts to develop culturally appropriate tools with minimal educational bias.