Back

Evaluating the Cultural Validity of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment: A Comparison of Performance in Bengali and English tests in Bangladeshi adults with Parkinson's disease in East London.

Shahid, A. J.; Waters, S.; Singh, M.; Zirra, A.; Bhadra, E.; Camboe, E.; Huxford, B.; Haque, T.; Gallagher, D.; Boyle, T.; Budu, C.; Marshall, C. R.; Noyce, A. J.; DEY, K. C.

2026-02-19 neurology
10.64898/2026.02.18.26346549 medRxiv
Show abstract

BackgroundThe Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is a recommended brief screening tool to detect cognitive impairment in people with Parkinsons disease (PD). ObjectiveTo compare English and Bengali MoCA performance in Bangladeshi individuals with PD in East London. MethodsThis cross-sectional study involved participants completing both English and Bengali MoCA. Analyses included ANCOVA, paired and unpaired t-tests, and Bland-Altman methods in full and age-matched samples. ResultsFifty PD participants and 22 healthy controls (HC) were included in the full analysis. Both groups scored higher on Bengali than English MoCA (mean difference [~]4 points, p<0.001). Age-matched analyses (n= 29 PD and 22 HC) detected PD-control differences with the Bengali but not English version (p=0.02). Bengali scores aligned more closely with multidisciplinary assessments, though mean scores remained below normative cut-offs. ConclusionBengali MoCA improves detection of cognitive differences over English but still overestimates impairment, supporting the need for culturally adapted tools and population-specific cut-offs.

Matching journals

The top 6 journals account for 50% of the predicted probability mass.

1
Frontiers in Neurology
91 papers in training set
Top 0.2%
18.6%
2
Parkinsonism & Related Disorders
21 papers in training set
Top 0.1%
10.1%
3
Movement Disorders
62 papers in training set
Top 0.3%
6.4%
4
BMJ Open
554 papers in training set
Top 3%
6.4%
5
Journal of Neurology
26 papers in training set
Top 0.1%
4.8%
6
PLOS ONE
4510 papers in training set
Top 32%
4.8%
50% of probability mass above
7
Journal of Parkinson's Disease
13 papers in training set
Top 0.1%
3.1%
8
Annals of Neurology
57 papers in training set
Top 0.7%
2.7%
9
BMC Neurology
12 papers in training set
Top 0.2%
2.6%
10
Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry
29 papers in training set
Top 0.5%
2.4%
11
Scientific Reports
3102 papers in training set
Top 53%
1.9%
12
Brain Communications
147 papers in training set
Top 1%
1.9%
13
npj Parkinson's Disease
89 papers in training set
Top 0.7%
1.9%
14
Neurology
44 papers in training set
Top 0.8%
1.7%
15
Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair
17 papers in training set
Top 0.3%
1.7%
16
Journal of the Neurological Sciences
17 papers in training set
Top 0.3%
1.7%
17
European Journal of Neurology
20 papers in training set
Top 0.3%
1.5%
18
Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease
39 papers in training set
Top 0.7%
1.5%
19
Alzheimer's & Dementia
143 papers in training set
Top 2%
1.5%
20
Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology
29 papers in training set
Top 0.8%
1.1%
21
Neurology Genetics
14 papers in training set
Top 0.2%
0.9%
22
Journal of Alzheimer's Disease
43 papers in training set
Top 1%
0.9%
23
Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience
67 papers in training set
Top 3%
0.9%
24
Brain Sciences
52 papers in training set
Top 2%
0.7%
25
Brain and Behavior
37 papers in training set
Top 2%
0.7%
26
Gait & Posture
22 papers in training set
Top 0.4%
0.6%
27
EClinicalMedicine
21 papers in training set
Top 1%
0.6%