Neurocognitive Function Among Middle-aged and Older Hispanic/Latinos: Results from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos

Abstract

We sought to examine and describe neurocognitive function among middle-aged and older Hispanic/Latino Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL) participants. We analyzed baseline cross-sectional data from the middle-aged and older (ages 45-74 years old) participants (n = 9,063) to calculate neurocognitive function scores and their correlates. Older age and higher depressive symptoms scores were associated with lower average neurocognitive performance, whereas greater educational attainment and household income were associated with higher neurocognitive performance. Hispanic/Latino heritage groups significantly varied in neurocognitive performances. Some neurocognitive differences between Hispanics/Latinos were maintained after controlling for language preference, education, household income, and depressive symptoms. We found notable differences in neurocognitive scores between Hispanic/Latino heritage groups that were not fully explained by the cultural and socioeconomic correlates examined in this study. Further investigations into plausible biological and environmental factors contributing to the Hispanic/Latino heritage group differences in neurocognitive found in the HCHS/SOL are warranted.

Sleep Duration and Neurocognitive Function in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos

“…As this cohort ages, our findings provide an opportunity to longitudinally evaluate and act upon the factors associated with sleep-related neurocognitive dysfunction and brain health in midlife and older Hispanics/Latinos. 19 In summary, we found that intermediate sleep duration was associated with higher neurocognitive function in the largest study of middle-aged and older Hispanics/Latinos of diverse backgrounds to date. We observed curvilinear inverted Ushaped associations between sleep duration and neurocognitive function, with worse scores among participants with longer sleep durations.…”

“…Three neurocognitive tests were used in this study: (1) the Brief-Spanish English Verbal Learning Test (B-SEVLT), 22,23 (2) the Controlled Oral Word Association (or Word/Phonemic Fluency; WF) Test of the Multilingual Aphasia Examination, 19 and (3) the Digit Symbol Subtest (DSS) of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised. 24 The WF is a test of verbal fluency, the B-SEVLT assesses verbal episodic learning and memory function, while the DSS is a test of psychomotor speed and working memory.…”

“…24 The WF is a test of verbal fluency, the B-SEVLT assesses verbal episodic learning and memory function, while the DSS is a test of psychomotor speed and working memory. 19 The order of B-SEVLT administration was fixed across 3 learning trials in which participants were asked to recall 15 common words (List A). After the third trial, a 15-item distractor list (List B) was introduced in which participants were asked to repeat aloud each word.…”

“…The outcomes were: (1) the summed total number of items correctly recalled across the 3 learning trials (B-SEVLT-sum), (2) the memory or delayed recall trial (B-SEVLT-recall), (3) the sum of correctly generated words beginning with the letters F and A (WF), and (4) the total correct score of the DSS. 19 We standardized all neurocognitive scores (i.e. z-score transformed) to facilitate interpretation and comparison of scores across tests.…”

Serum-based Protein Profiles of Alzheimer’s Disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment in Elderly Hispanics

“…Expression of the ApoE e4 allele has been shown to vary by ethnic group [59], which may contribute to differences in etiology of dementia among different ethnic groups. In Hispanic populations, the variation among studies is likely due to the fact that Hispanics are a mixture of Amerindian, African and European descent with relative compositions varying by country, a notion that is supported by a recent report of variations in neurocognitive performance across different US Hispanic/Latino groups [60]. In light of this, the genetic admixture of Mexican Americans and Panamanians is likely very different and this is a line of investigation the current team is beginning to examine (i.e., the influence of genetic admixture on the blood-based proteomic profile of AD).…”