This study aimed to evaluate the validity, reliability, and diagnostic accuracy of the Turkish version of MoCA-B in distinguishing healthy controls, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and dementia patients within a low-education population.

The prevalence of dementia is steadily increasing, and recognizing cognitive impairment at an early stage-especially during mild cognitive impairment (MCI), before full diagnostic criteria for dementia are met-is crucial. Cognitive screening tools used in individuals with low educational levels often fail to detect MCI. The illiterate version of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) is insufficient for identifying MCI and early dementia, resulting in delayed diagnosis. The MoCA-Basic (MoCA-B), adapted for low-educated populations and translated into Turkish, has not undergone a validation and reliability study; therefore, it is not routinely used in clinical practice. This study aimed to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Turkish MoCA- B in detecting MCI and dementia, and to compare its diagnostic performance with the MMSE and the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR).

This study included 55 patients with MCI, 56 with dementia, and 55 healthy controls (total n=166) who presented to the Dementia and Neurology Clinics of Antalya Training and Research Hospital between January 2024 and November 2025. After a detailed mental status examination, participants underwent MoCA-B, MMSE (illiterate version), and CDR assessments. Internal consistency was measured using Cronbach's alpha, and test-retest reliability using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Group differences were analyzed with one-way ANOVA and Tukey post hoc testing. Correlations between MoCA-B, MMSE, and CDR were evaluated with Pearson correlation. Diagnostic accuracy was assessed through ROC analyses, and optimal cut- off values were determined using the Youden index.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age 50-100 years
• Presented with memory complaints and were evaluated in the Neurology/Dementia outpatient clinics of Antalya Training and Research Hospital (Jan 2024-Nov 2025)
• Low educational attainment (illiterate to primary school level)
• Provided informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

• Active psychiatric disorders / active psychopathology
• Intracranial mass lesions
• Secondary causes of dementia
• Severe medical conditions affecting cognition
• History of traumatic brain injury

Adults aged 50-100 years presenting with memory complaints were recruited from the Neurology and Dementia outpatient clinics of Antalya Training and Research Hospital (January 2024-November 2025). Eligibility required low educational attainment (illiterate to primary school level). The study enrolled 166 participants, including healthy controls (n=55), mild cognitive impairment (MCI) cases (n=55), and dementia cases (n=56), all clinically characterized within routine specialty-care evaluation.

De-identified individual participant data underlying the primary and secondary analyses will be shared, including: participant age, sex, education level, diagnostic group (healthy control/MCI/dementia), MoCA-B total score and domain/subtest scores, MMSE total score and domain scores, CDR global score, comorbidity status, marital status, and family history of dementia. No direct identifiers (e.g., name, national ID, address, exact dates) will be shared; a data dictionary/codebook will accompany the dataset.

Beginning 6 months after publication and ending 24 months after publication.

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