The relationship of montreal cognitive assessment scores to framingham coronary and stroke risk scores

We examined the relationship between a brief cognitive screening measure and Framingham Coronary and Stroke Risk scores. We administered the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) to participants in the Dallas Heart Study, a community-based multiethnic study investigating the development of atherosclerosis. The composition of the group was 50% African American, 36% Caucasian and 14% Hispanic. There were 765 subjects (mean age 51 years) who had both Coronary and Stroke Risk scores and an additional 144 subjects with only Coronary Risk scores available. There was a small significant inverse relationship between MoCA and Framingham Coronary and Stroke Risk scores. MoCA scores were influenced by education, but were not influenced by age or by the presence of one or more apoE4 alleles.