The Utility of Cognitive Screeners in the Detection of Dementia Spectrum Disorders in Spanish-Speaking Populations

Abstract

Increasing rates of dementia spectrum disorders among Spanish-speaking geriatric populations necessitate the development of culturally appropriate cognitive screening tests that can identify neurodegenerative disorders in their earliest stages when emerging disease-modifying treatments are most likely to be effective. This scoping review identified 26 brief Spanish language cognitive screening tools (<20 minutes) by searching academic databases using a combination of search terms. Results suggest that the Mini-Mental Status Examination and Montreal Cognitive Assessment appear to be less valid than other screeners. Instruments such as the 7-Minute Screen and Mini-Cog evidence higher classification rates of dementia, while Phototest detected mild cognitive impairment at higher rates more consistently than other screeners. Different sensitivity and specificity outcomes and cutoffs were observed when the same cognitive screener was evaluated in different countries. Results indicate that it is imperative to increase nation-specific validation and normative data for these instruments to best serve diverse populations.

Differential Relationships Between the Montreal Cognitive Assessment and Informant-Rated Cognitive Decline Among Mexican Americans and Non-Hispanic Whites

“…These findings support prior work suggesting greater error in Hispanic populations compared to non-Hispanic white populations when universal cut scores are used. 7 Our results add to growing evidence 3,27 that the assumption of psychometric and construct equivalence of the MoCA and other cognitive screening instruments in diverse populations needs further scrutiny.…”

Clinical utility of Phototest via teleneuropsychology in Chilean rural older adults

“…This review did not take into account the analysis of the PT. But in the same year, Burke et al 54 analyzed 10 cognitive tests for dementia in the Spanish-speaking population, using the PT and concluded that this instrument presented the highest statistical indicators to detect dementia and MCI and was the most appropriate to be applied in contexts of low levels of education and literacy. We believe that the origin of these discrepancies may be the lack of studies analyzing the properties of the PT in LA.…”

Population-Based Mini-Mental State Examination Norms in Adults of Mexican Heritage in the Cameron County Hispanic Cohort

“…Variables associated with the MMSE and/or global cognition in prior studies of the general US and/or US Hispanic populations were extracted from the CCHC dataset for analysis. These variables included demographic data, such as age [ 12–15 ], years of education (YOE) [ 12–23 ], gender [ 12, 16, 23 ], primary lifetime occupation [ 17, 21–24 ], household income [ 18, 25 ], primary language(s) spoken at home [ 17, 18, 25, 26 ], and marital status [ 17, 20, 23, 27–30 ]; medical history data, such as diabetes [ 17, 20–23, 30, 31 ], hypertension [ 17, 20–22, 30, 32 ], dyslipidemia [ 17, 21–23, 30, 33 ], kidney disease [ 34, 35 ], coronary artery disease [ 22, 25 ], cerebrovascular disease [ 21, 22, 25, 36 ], and obesity [ 20, 22, 25, 30 ]; measurements of anxious and depressive symptoms [ 17, 20, 21, 23, 25, 29, 37 ]; lifestyle data, such as cigarette use [ 17, 20–23, 30 ], alcohol consumption [ 17, 20, 22, 30 ], exercise habits [ 17, 20, 21, 23, 25, 30 ], and influenza vaccination history [ 38 ]; family history in biological siblings or parents of diabetes [ 39, 40 ], hypertension [ 41–43 ], cardiovascular disease [ 44 ], or cerebrovascular disease [ 45, 46 ]; laboratory data, including lipid levels and biomarkers related to inflammation, stress, and/or metabolic health (e.g., IL-1β, IL-6, TNF- α , leptin, resistin) [ 22, 23, 37, 47, 48 ]; and anthropometric measurements such as waist circumference, height, and weight [ 20, 30, 49 ]. With the exceptions of laboratory and anthropometric data, all variables were collected via patient self-report.…”