Influence of sociodemographic variables on neuropsychological test performance in Spanish-speaking older adults

Abstract

There is limited information regarding the impact of sociodemographic variables on the neuropsychological test performance of the Spanish-speaking older adult residing in the United States (US). This study examines the influence of age, education, gender, age of arrival in the US, percentage of lifetime in the US, acculturation, and reported depressive symptoms on neuropsychological test performance in a group of cognitively normal Spanish-speaking elders, the majority of whom were Cuban born. Educational attainment had a broad effect on test scores, with the other variables having only limited effects. These results underscore the impact of educational attainment on neuropsychological test performance among the cognitively normal Spanish-speaking older adult.

This research was supported by Grant 5R01AG020094-03 from the National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Aging to David Loewenstein, PhD, Principal Investigator.