A-018 Informant and Participant-Report of Functioning Predicts Performance on Objective Cognitive Screening

Abstract

Objective Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and Alzheimer’s Disease 8 questionnaire (AD8) are widely used measures for clinical screening of dementia related disorders. Previous research on MoCA and AD8 has been solely focused on participant-report AD8 measures without consideration of informant reports. We hypothesize informant reported AD8 and participant MoCA scores will be inversely related, participant-reported AD8 will be weakly associated with MoCA performance, and informant reported AD8 will more reliably predictor cognitive performance. Methods Participants (N = 212) were seen from 2018 to 2020 through a free community screening service (Brain Health Check-In) at Banner Sun Health Research Institute in Arizona. First and second hypotheses were analyzed with Spearman’s Rho (r), third hypothesis utilized a linear regression. Results Both participant and informant reported AD8 directly correlated with overall cognitive performance classification (r = 0.639 [informant] confidence interval [CI] = .0552–0.712, p < .000; r = 0.610 [participant] CI = 0.518–0.688, p < .000). Informant reported AD8 ratings were significantly inversely correlated with MoCA performance (r = −0.497, p < .000). Participant reported AD8 ratings also inversely correlated with overall MoCA scores with a weaker association (r = −0.296, p < .000). Neither participant nor informant reported AD8 were able to reliably predict categorical cognitive performance classification, but informant reported AD8 (r = −.686, p < .000) did emerge as a reliable predictor of MoCA performance. Conclusion(s) This study extends and reaffirms prior research about AD8 and suggests both informant- and participant-reports are valuable; however, informant often provides more clinically useful information related to cognitive functioning.