Abstract
Background. Cognitive dysfunction is a common feature in alcohol use disorders. Its persistence following alcohol detoxification may impair quality of life and increase the risk of relapse. We analyzed cognitive impairment changes using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score in a large sample of alcohol-dependent inpatients hospitalized for at least 4 weeks. Method. This was an observational longitudinal survey. Inclusion criteria were alcohol dependence (DSM-IV) and alcohol abstinence for at least one week. The MoCA test was administered on admission and at discharge. Results. 236 patients were included. The mean MoCA score significantly increased from 22.1 ± 3.7 on admission to 25.11 ± 3.12 at discharge. The corresponding effect-size of improvement was high, 1.1 [95% CI 1.0–1.2]. The degree of improvement was inversely correlated with the baseline MoCA score. The rate of high and normal, that is, >26, MoCA values increased from 15.8% on admission to 53.8% at discharge. MoCA score improvement was not correlated with the total length of abstinence prior to admission. Conclusion. The MoCA score seems to be a useful tool for measuring changes in cognitive performance in alcohol-dependent patients. A significant improvement in cognitive function was observed whatever the degree of impairment on admission and even after a long abstinence period.
Highlights
Chronic excessive alcohol consumption is associated with numerous medical and psychological complications
As our present study aimed to evaluate the changes in cognitive performance using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score, we decided to use the raw MoCA score without any correction as we did in our previous study [23] and we kept 26 as the cut-off normal value in accordance with other authors [33, 34]
236 patients admitted for rehabilitation after alcohol withdrawal met the inclusion criteria and were evaluated using the MoCA test on admission and at discharge
Summary
Chronic excessive alcohol consumption is associated with numerous medical and psychological complications. The frequency of cognitive disorders in alcohol-dependent inpatients is reported to be high, ranging from 50 to 70% [6, 7]. This high prevalence is probably related at least in part to the duration of alcohol intoxication before seeking treatment. MoCA score improvement was not correlated with the total length of abstinence prior to admission. The MoCA score seems to be a useful tool for measuring changes in cognitive performance in alcohol-dependent patients. A significant improvement in cognitive function was observed whatever the degree of impairment on admission and even after a long abstinence period
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