INS NYC 2024 Program

Poster	Poster Session 11 Program Schedule 02/17/2024 10:45 am - 12:00 pm Room: Majestic Complex (Posters 61-120) Poster Session 11: Cultural Neuropsychology \| Education/Training \| Professional Practice Issues Final Abstract #64 Verbal Fluency Performance in Hispanic English and Spanish Speaking Older Adults Maria Loizos, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, United States Eric McConathey, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, United States Theresa Lin, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, United States Leah Sutton, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, United States Sofia Coll, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, United States Hannah Bradley, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, United States Wei-qian Wang, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, United States Jane Martin, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, United States Mary Sano, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; James J. Peters Department of Veteran Affairs Medical Center, New York City; Bronx, United States Category: Inclusion and Diversity/Multiculturalism Keyword 1: multiculturalism Keyword 2: dementia - Alzheimer's disease Keyword 3: fluency Objective: Assessment of generative verbal fluency is a core component of dementia evaluation due to mesial temporal degradation that occurs in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Normative verbal fluency among Hispanic older adults is not well established despite their growing population and increased risk of developing AD compared to non-Hispanic white individuals. This gap in normative data can result in an over- or under-estimation of cognitive impairment. We aimed to assess the contribution of primary language spoken to verbal fluency performance in Hispanic older adults who identified either English or Spanish as their primary language in a diverse urban setting. It is hypothesized that verbal fluency performance of Spanish-speakers will be significantly different than verbal fluency performance of English-speakers. Participants and Methods: This was a cross-sectional retrospective study examining differences in verbal fluency performance in self-identified Hispanic English- and Spanish-speaking participants using National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center (NACC) Uniform Data Set (UDS) and site-specific supplemental participant data collected at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ISMMS ADRC). 148 participants (M_age = 73.0, Mean years of education= 11.6, 52.7% Clinical Dementia Rating = 0.5) attended yearly visits at ISMMS ADRC from January 2006 to June 2023. Participants were 50.7% female and 62.2% Spanish-speaking. Cognitive assessment included the Controlled Oral Word Association Test - FAS and Animal Naming Test. Results: General linear models were used to determine the relationship between primary language and verbal fluency performance. Age and years of education were included as covariates. There was a significant association between primary language and performance on letter fluency (F(1,116) = 7.33, p = .008) such that English-speakers were able to name more words on FAS (M = 31.21, SD = 11.77) than Spanish-speakers (M = 23.46, SD = 9.93). There was no association between primary language and performance on Animal naming (F(1,116) = 2.09, p = .15). Conclusions: Consistent with our hypothesis, among self-identified Hispanic participants in our ADRC, letter fluency (FAS) was significantly lower among Spanish-speaking participants compared to English-speaking participants even after controlling for age and education. This relationship was not found with Animal naming. While these findings are consistent with the limited normative data available, it underscores the lack of normative data available for under-represented groups even within Hispanic populations (e.g., low education), warranting further research in linguistic test equivalency for both clinical and research purposes.

Poster

02/17/2024
10:45 am - 12:00 pm
Room: Majestic Complex (Posters 61-120)

Poster Session 11: Cultural Neuropsychology | Education/Training | Professional Practice Issues

Final Abstract #64

Verbal Fluency Performance in Hispanic English and Spanish Speaking Older Adults

Maria Loizos, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, United States
Eric McConathey, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, United States
Theresa Lin, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, United States
Leah Sutton, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, United States
Sofia Coll, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, United States
Hannah Bradley, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, United States
Wei-qian Wang, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, United States
Jane Martin, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, United States
Mary Sano, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; James J. Peters Department of Veteran Affairs Medical Center, New York City; Bronx, United States

Category: Inclusion and Diversity/Multiculturalism

Keyword 1: multiculturalism
Keyword 2: dementia - Alzheimer's disease
Keyword 3: fluency

Objective:

Assessment of generative verbal fluency is a core component of dementia evaluation due to mesial temporal degradation that occurs in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Normative verbal fluency among Hispanic older adults is not well established despite their growing population and increased risk of developing AD compared to non-Hispanic white individuals. This gap in normative data can result in an over- or under-estimation of cognitive impairment. We aimed to assess the contribution of primary language spoken to verbal fluency performance in Hispanic older adults who identified either English or Spanish as their primary language in a diverse urban setting. It is hypothesized that verbal fluency performance of Spanish-speakers will be significantly different than verbal fluency performance of English-speakers.

Participants and Methods:

This was a cross-sectional retrospective study examining differences in verbal fluency performance in self-identified Hispanic English- and Spanish-speaking participants using National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center (NACC) Uniform Data Set (UDS) and site-specific supplemental participant data collected at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ISMMS ADRC). 148 participants (M_age = 73.0, Mean years of education= 11.6, 52.7% Clinical Dementia Rating = 0.5) attended yearly visits at ISMMS ADRC from January 2006 to June 2023. Participants were 50.7% female and 62.2% Spanish-speaking. Cognitive assessment included the Controlled Oral Word Association Test - FAS and Animal Naming Test.

Results:

General linear models were used to determine the relationship between primary language and verbal fluency performance. Age and years of education were included as covariates. There was a significant association between primary language and performance on letter fluency (F(1,116) = 7.33, p = .008) such that English-speakers were able to name more words on FAS (M = 31.21, SD = 11.77) than Spanish-speakers (M = 23.46, SD = 9.93). There was no association between primary language and performance on Animal naming (F(1,116) = 2.09, p = .15).

Conclusions:

Consistent with our hypothesis, among self-identified Hispanic participants in our ADRC, letter fluency (FAS) was significantly lower among Spanish-speaking participants compared to English-speaking participants even after controlling for age and education. This relationship was not found with Animal naming. While these findings are consistent with the limited normative data available, it underscores the lack of normative data available for under-represented groups even within Hispanic populations (e.g., low education), warranting further research in linguistic test equivalency for both clinical and research purposes.