Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is among the most commonly used screening tools worldwide. Objective: The aim of the study was to provide normative data for the MoCA in a Greek cohort of people older than 60 years who meet criteria for subjective cognitive decline (SCD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), or dementia in order to optimize cutoff scores for each diagnostic group. Method: Seven hundred forty-six community-dwelling older adults, visitors of the Day Center of Alzheimer Hellas were randomly chosen. Three hundred seventy-nine of them met the criteria for dementia, 245 for MCI and 122 for SCD. Results: Initial statistical analyses showed that the total MoCA score is not affected by gender ( P = .164), or age ( P = .144) but is affected by educational level ( P < .001). A cutoff score of 23 for low educational level (≤6 years) can distinguish people with SCD from MCI (sensitivity 71.4%, specificity 84.2%), while 26 is the cutoff score for middle educational level (7-12 years; sensitivity 73.2%, specificity 67.0%) and high educational level (≥13 years; sensitivity 77.6%, specificity 74.7%). Montreal Cognitive Assessment can discriminate older adults with SCD from dementia, with a cutoff score of 20 for low educational level (sensitivity 100%, specificity 92.3%) and a cutoff score 23 for middle educational level (sensitivity 97.6%, specificity 92.7%) and high educational level (sensitivity 98.5%, specificity 100%). Conclusion: Montreal Cognitive Assessment is not affected by age or gender but is affected by the educational level. The discriminant potential of MoCA between SCD and MCI is good, while the discrimination of SCD from dementia is excellent.

Background: It can be easily inferred that dementia caregivers were severely affected by the general home confinement, or ‘lockdown’, due to their caregiving roles. Aim: The aim of the current study is to investigate how the quarantine measures applied during the COVID-19 pandemic affected the emotional function (specifically the emotional management, emotional experience, and stress symptoms) and the negative thoughts, as well as the adaptability skills, of Greek dementia caregivers. Materials andMethods: In total, 303 participants (138 in the non-caregiving adults-control group; 165 in the dementia caregivers-experimental group) were recruited from the day centers of the Greek Association of Alzheimer Disease and Related Disorders (GAADRD) from June 2020 to January 2021 in Thessaloniki, Greece. The caregiving population was split into group 1 (those who participated in support groups) and group 2 (those who did not participate in support groups). A self-reported questionnaire was created for research purposes and was digitally administered to participants via Google forms. Results: During the quarantine period, dementia caregivers had more difficulties in emotional management, especially in regards to stress symptoms, which was measured via the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), in comparison to the control group. In regards to the caregiving populations, caregivers from group 1 were more able to manage their emotions according to their self-reports, but had increased agony and loneliness. Moreover, statistical significance was found between emotional management, negative feelings, and stress symptoms in those from group 2 who self-reported that the PwD deteriorated. This evidence was not found in group 1. Finally, there were no differences in the means of negative thoughts about the pandemic, as well as in the adaptation skills, both in dementia caregivers and in the control group, according to their self-reports. Discussion: It seems that different emotional aspects were affected in the dementia caregivers’ population, and, therefore, future psychotherapeutic interventions should focus on those most severely affected by the restrictive measures imposed.

Introduction: Current trends in dementia research focus on early and accurate diagnosis. In clinical practice however, this is not always possible, as multiple underlying pathologies produce mixed dementia syndromes. Furthermore, patients with severe dementia are often underestimated.