Comparison of the Taiwanese versions of the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-III (ACE-III), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA) for screening mild cognitive impairment among older Taiwanese people

Background: The purpose of this study was to screen for mild cognitive impairment among a sample of older Taiwanese adults with the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-III (ACE-III) Taiwanese version (TACE-III) based on a comparison with Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Methods: A total of 145 participants aged 65 or above were enrolled by convenient sampling in the communities. The ACE-III was translated into a Taiwanese version (TACE-III) and modified. The TACE-III, MMSE, and MoCA were compared, and the ROC curve was applied to the suggested cutoff points. Results: When using MMSE and MoCA to validate the ROC curve, the closest cut-off point for TACE-III between the two validations was suggested to be a score of 76.5 to screen for mild cognitive impairment with a sensitivity = 84% and a specificity = 85%. The consistency levels among the cognitive function domains across the 3 scales were also compared. Conclusion: TACE-III is a potentially more useful tool for screening MCI.