Translation and Validation of the Thai Version of the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status and the Mini Montreal Cognitive Assessment in Older Adults

Sep 30, 2026

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The study translates and validates the Thai versions of the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS) and the Mini Montreal Cognitive Assessment (Mini MoCA) for older Thai adults, and evaluates diagnostic validity for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia. Among 149 participants (51 cognitively normal, 49 MCI, 49 dementia), diagnoses use DSM-5 and Clinical Dementia Rating. Both tools show significant correlations with cognitive and functional measures and excellent test-retest and inter-rater reliability, with Mini MoCA slightly outperforming TICS in discrimination.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Development of cognitive screening tools

Telephone-based cognitive assessments

TICS and study rationale

Materials and methods

Participants and diagnostic criteria

Assessments and administration procedure

Reliability and validity analyses

Results

Group comparability and score correlations

Reliability metrics

Diagnostic performance and administration time

Conclusions

Brain and Behavior ORIGINAL ARTICLE Translation and Validation of the Thai Version of the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status and the Mini Montreal Cognitive Assessment in Older Adults Pasa Sukson1 Weerasak Muangpaisan2 Pitiporn Siritipakorn3 Ananya Treewisut2 Supakorn Chansaengpetch2 Angkana Jongsawadipatana2 Jirawit Wong-ekkabut2 Somboon Intalapaporn2 1 Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand 2 Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand 3 Department of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand Correspondence: Weerasak Muangpaisan ([drweerasak@gmail.com](drweerasak@gmail.com)) Received: 11 August 2025 Revised: 5 December 2025 Accepted: 18 December 2025 Keywords: dementia | MCI | Mini MoCA | TICS Abstract Introduction: This study aimed to translate and validate the telephone interview for cognitive status (TICS) and the mini montreal cognitive assessment (Mini MoCA) for use in older Thai adults and to compare their diagnostic validity for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia. Materials and methods: A total of 149 participants—51 cognitively normal (CN), 49 with MCI, and 49 with dementia—were enrolled. Diagnoses were based on DSM-5 criteria and the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR), determined by a senior geriatric neurologist. Participants also completed the MMSE-2, MoCA, NPI-Q, and ADL assessments, administered by certified psychologists and a geriatric nurse. The TICS and Mini MoCA were administered by two independent, blinded clinicians within four weeks of the initial evaluation. Test-retest reliability was assessed after two weeks. Validity and reliability analyses included content and construct validity, and inter-rater/test-retest reliability. Results: Mean age and education were comparable across groups. Both TICS and Mini MoCA scores correlated significantly with standard cognitive and functional measures. Test-retest and inter-rater reliability were excellent (ICC = 0.933 and 0.995 for TICS; 0.918 and 0.998 for Mini MoCA). For discriminating CN from dementia, sensitivity/specificity were 81.3%/81.2%(AUC = 0.883) for TICS and 87.5%/89.6%(AUC = 0.958) for Mini MoCA. For CN vs. MCI, Mini MoCA (AUC = 0.755) performed slightly better than TICS (AUC = 0.693) . Average administration times were 8.7 and 4.4 min, respectively. Conclusions: TICS and Mini MoCA are valid, reliable tools for cognitive screening in older Thai adults, with Mini MoCA showing slightly superior performance. 1 Introduction Significant progress has been made in developing cognitive screening tools aimed at early detection of cognitive decline (Prince et al. 2015; Kanjanapong et al. 2021) . Among the most widely used instruments are the mini-mental state examination (MMSE) (Folstein et al. 1975) and the MoCA (Nasreddine et al. 2005), which demonstrate strong sensitivity and specificity for identifying dementia and MCI, respectively. However, both tools have inherent limitations. They require face-to-face administration, involve relatively lengthy testing durations, and may not be feasible for individuals residing in remote areas or those with This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2026 The Author(s). Brain and Behavior published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. Brain and Behavior, 2026; 16:e71178 1 of 10 [https://doi.org/10.1002/brb3.71178](https://doi.org/10.1002/brb3.71178) limited mobility. Furthermore, their reliance on visual or motor responses makes them less suitable for individuals with visual impairments or certain physical disabilities. To overcome these challenges, telephone-based cognitive assessments have been increasingly adopted as viable alt

FAQs

What is the purpose of translating and validating TICS and Mini MoCA in Thai older adults?

To provide Thai-language telephone-based cognitive screening tools and to assess their diagnostic validity for MCI and dementia, including comparison between TICS and Mini MoCA.

How were diagnoses and assessments carried out in the study?

Participants were diagnosed using DSM-5 criteria and the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR). They completed MMSE-2, MoCA, NPI-Q, and ADL, and TICS and Mini MoCA were administered by two independent blinded clinicians within four weeks.

How reliable were TICS and Mini MoCA, and which tool performed better?

Both showed excellent test-retest and inter-rater reliability (ICC values around 0.918–0.998). For discriminating cognitively normal from MCI, Mini MoCA performed slightly better than TICS, and it also showed stronger performance overall.

Sep 30, 2026

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