Application of MoCA, MMSE and AMTs tests in diagnosing the cognitive status of the elderly under hemodialysis in Medical centers of Guilan University of Medical Sciences in 2019

Reduction of renal function in elderly is associated with decreased cognitive function, especially in the fields of general cognitive ability, abstract reasoning, and verbal memory. Recognition of cognitive impairments can be helped by rehabilitation interventions for the patient and his family. The aim of present study was to compare MoCA, MMSE and AMTs questionnaires in diagnosing the cognitive status of the elderly undergoing hemodialysis of medical centers of Guilan University of Medical Sciences in 2019.

The present study is a cross-sectional descriptive study that was performed on 84 elderly people aged 60 years and older undergoing hemodialysis in Guilan University of Medical Sciences during a multi-stage sampling. The research instruments included MoCA, MMSE and AMTs questionnaires whose validity and reliability were confirmed in various studies. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (number and percentage) and Spearman correlation coefficient by using SPSS software version 20.

Findings showed different cognitive status of patients with these three tools (MoCA, MMSE and AMTs) so that with the MoCA test, the majority of the elderly (94.05%) had mild cognitive impairment; with the MMSE test, the majority of the population (61.90%) had mild cognitive impairment; however, with the AMTs test, the majority (84.52%) had natural cognition. The findings also showed a positive and significant correlation between these three tests (P = 0.001).

Based on the results, it seems that the AMTs tool has not been able to identify elderly people with cognitive impairment compared to the MoCA and MMSE. Given the differences in the results of cognitive tools, it is recommended that similar research be conducted with other tools that measure cognitive functions, and it is suggested that a more complete tool with combination of different tools be designed for cognitive assessment.