Search

Introduction: Language acculturation is the process by which a bilingual individual obtains proficiency and comfort in speaking a new language while maintaining fluency in their native language. Considering the degree of language acculturation in bilingual patients is essential to choosing appropriate tests and interpreting neuropsychological assessment. The Language Acculturation Meter™ (LAM) was created for native Spanish speakers who are bilingual in English to aid in selecting and interpreting verbally-administered assessments. While the LAM was created to be completed as an interview, a Spanish version of the form exists and can be given to patients to complete independently. We sought to evaluate the feasibility and utility of self-administered LAM in a clinical older adult population in NY State. Methods: The LAM was given to Spanish-speaking older adults and their caregivers as part of their clinical neuropsychological evaluation at Montefiore's Memory Disorders Centers. 16 patient and caregiver dyads completed the LAM in either English or Spanish. Results: Patient ages ranged from 67 to 83; 75% of the patients were female, and 56% self-identified as bilingual. 18% of patients completed the LAM without caregiver assistance. Dyads did not comment on the form, but early qualitative feedback suggests that some had difficulty understanding how to complete aspects of the LAM, and others found that some items on the LAM did not apply to them. Conclusions: The LAM is a previously validated interview tool that requires further research to determine if it can be used as a self-report questionnaire in clinical populations, including older adults with cognitive complaints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To demonstrate the validity of the Symbol Match in a diverse clinical setting. Background: To improve detection of cognitive impairment in older primary care patients, our team developed the 5-Cog, a 5-minute cognitive assessment and decision tree paradigm that can be administered by non-clinicians. The Symbol Match is a new 90-second oral symbol and digit substitution task that is one of the three tests in the 5-Cog that assesses processing speed and executive function. Methods: 50 participants (66% female; 44% Hispanic, 38% Non-Hispanic Black; 36% evaluated in Spanish) with a mean age of 77.84 ± 7.3, and 12 ± 4.7 mean years of education. Participants were recruited following clinical evaluations at the Montefiore Memory Disorder Centers and had confirmed clinical diagnoses of dementia, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), or subjective cognitive concerns (SCC). Results: Symbol Match scores were significantly different (p < 0.001) between participants with SCC (N = 5, M = 48 ± 9.7), MCI (N = 14, M = 31.7 ± 14.3), and dementia (N = 28, M = 9.6 ± 11.5). Age (p = 0.004) and education (p < 0.001) were correlated with Symbol Match score in the overall sample. Symbol Match scores were significantly different between the 3 disease states (p < 0.001) even when controlling for age and education. The Symbol Match was highly correlated (r = 0.843, p < 0.001) with the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT), an established neuropsychological measure of processing speed and executive function. Conclusion: This study provides initial validation of the Symbol Match and its utility in a clinical population. Further research on psychometric properties and construct validity of this new tool is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]