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The most established and widely used screening tool to detect CI worldwide is the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) [8], however this instrument has no items assessing executive functioning. A growing body of research has demonstrated its limitations in the identification of CI in multiple clinical populations e.g. multiple sclerosis, cancer, Parkinson's disease, dementia [9] and alcoholdependence [10]. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is an alternative screening tool for CI, published over a decade ago, and was designed to detect mild-to-moderate impairment. It contains items assessing executive functioning and has excellent sensitivity and good specificity [11], yet is rarely applied in substance use settings or used in research. Evidence of its superiority over the MMSE has been demonstrated with a range of clinical populations [12-16].

Significant reductions in drinking frequency and severity are possible for Asian problem drinkers after 12 weeks of outpatient treatment. The identified predictors suggest that more frequent drinkers and patients with past/current psychiatric comorbidities may require a more intensive treatment approach to optimise treatment outcomes.

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