Dementia is a condition observed in persons afflicted with different brain diseases, first of all, with Alzheimer’s Disease. Alzheimer’s is the most common type of senile dementia. Limited cognitive and lingual capacity and other problems make the affected persons dependent on medical and social help. With the progression of the disease, the economic burden becomes heavy both for the family and society. So far, no effective medical treatment has been discovered, which could stop the decrease in brain capacity. However, early diagnosis of dementia symptoms is important because alternative individual preventive instruments can be implemented to slow down the progression of the disease and prolong the period of the relatively independent existence of patients.
The worldwide known MoCA test is one of the most common instruments for testing persons worried about their mental condition and cognitive capacities. The test is translated and partially adapted in several languages, including Latvian. Our analysis was aimed at the question: does the Latvian test version respond to the requirements which are necessary to achieve optimal results. In other words, can it provide an objective rating of a lingual performance by the tested persons? The first critical inventory concerned three relevant parts: the formulation of tasks, the prescribed instructions, and the principles of interpretation of testing results.
Several examples demonstrate that some deficits can be observed in all the analysed parts. Some tasks should be better adapted to the Latvian situation so that a lingual or cognitive test would be separated from the test of the-so-called world knowledge. The instructions should be formulated clearly, without using complicated grammatical structures (currently, some of them are more complicated than the tasks), and they should focus on the tasks instead of examiners’ activities. In some cases, the suggested interpretation principles of the test results cannot be seen as reasoned from the linguistic point of view. Some observations indicate that the translation of the test and its requirements or instructions were carried out by a person who does not deal professionally with linguistics.
The main conclusion is that the current quality of the Latvian MoCA test needs a critical review and, possibly, complete revision. Thus, the interdisciplinary cooperation between linguists and physicians, as well as joint research, is an actual and necessary precondition for the improvement of health care in Latvia.
Telling the Diagnosis of Dementia: Consider Each Patient Individually
