Test the Best: Classification Accuracies of Four Cognitive Rating Scales for Parkinson’s Disease Mild Cognitive Impairment
Abstract Objective A progressive cognitive impairment is one of the frequent non-motor symptoms during Parkinson’s disease (PD) course. A short and valid screening tool is needed to detect an incipient cognitive deficit at the mild cognitive impairment stage in Parkinson’s disease (PD–MCI). Method The present study aims to evaluate the classification accuracies of four cognitive screenings: Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Mattis Dementia Rating Scale second edition (DRS–2), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB) in a cohort of PD patients (PD–MCI, n = 46; and Parkinson’s disease with normal cognition, PD-NC, n = 95) and Controls (n = 66). All subjects underwent a standard neuropsychological battery as recommended by the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society and underwent all four screening tools. Results In the detection of PD-MCI versus PD-NC, the MoCA showed a sensitivity of 84% and a specificity of 66% with a screening cutoff score at ≤25 points. The MoCA’s AUC was 86% (95% CI 78.7–93.1). In the detection of PD-MCI versus Controls, the FAB displayed 84% sensitivity and 79% specificity with a cutoff ≤16 points, to screen. The FAB’s AUC was 87% (79.0–95.0). Conclusions Our results show that the MoCA is the most discriminative tool for screening MCI in the PD population.