The Clinimetric Evaluation of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment in Italian Patients with Adult-Onset Idiopathic Focal Dystonia

The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is a widely used tool for evaluating cognitive function, particularly in patients with neurodegenerative diseases. Recently, there has been growing interest in exploring its validity and reliability in various populations. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the clinimetric properties of the MoCA in Italian patients with adult-onset idiopathic focal dystonia (AOIFD).

Our sample consisted of 86 patients with AOIFD and 92 healthy controls. All participants underwent a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation, including the Trail-Making Test (TMT), Babcock Memory Test (BMT), Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), and Dimensional Apathy Scale (DAS). The MoCA was administered as part of this battery.

Our results showed that the MoCA had an acceptably reliable internal structure and satisfactory discriminative ability between cases and controls. We also found a significant association between MoCA scores and motor-functional measures, providing evidence for its construct validity. Notably, we observed a strong correlation between MoCA performance and TMT, BMT, BDI-II, and DAS scores, suggesting that it is capable of detecting cognitive impairment in patients with AOIFD.

In terms of factorial structure and internal consistency, our analysis revealed that the MoCA had a mono-component structure and satisfactory internal reliability. This suggests that the test items are measuring a single underlying construct, which is consistent with its intended use as a comprehensive measure of cognitive function.

Overall, our study provides evidence for the clinimetric validity of the MoCA in Italian patients with AOIFD. The findings support the use of this tool in clinical settings to assess cognitive function and monitor changes over time in these patients. Moreover, they suggest that the MoCA may be a useful adjunctive tool in the diagnostic evaluation of patients with AOIFD.

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In conclusion, our study demonstrates the clinimetric validity of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) in Italian patients with adult-onset idiopathic focal dystonia (AOIFD). The findings provide evidence for its reliability, discriminative ability, and construct validity. As such, the MoCA is a valuable tool for clinicians seeking to assess cognitive function in this patient population.

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