Cultural factors related to neuropsychological performance and brain atrophy among Hispanic older adults with amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI): A pilot study.

OBJECTIVES

This study examined the association of cultural factors and literacy to neuropsychological performance and measures of regional brain atrophy among Hispanic elders diagnosed with amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI).

METHOD

Acculturation and literacy levels were measured among 45 subjects tested in Spanish; their primary language. Scores for measures of memory, executive functioning, and verbal fluency, as well as volumetric analysis of MRI scans of left hemisphere structures commonly affected by Alzheimer's disease (AD) were examined. Linear regression models were employed to examine the association of acculturation and literacy to neuropsychological performance and MRI measures.

RESULTS

After controlling for age, higher literacy levels were associated with better performance on phonemic verbal fluency ( = 0.300, < .05), while higher levels of acculturation to the U.S. was associated with poorer performance on category verbal fluency ( = 0.300, < .05). There was a significant inverse relationship after controlling for age between literacy and the left entorhinal cortex ( = -0.455, < .05), left precuneus ( = -0.457, < .05), and left posterior cingulate ( = -0.415, < .05).

CONCLUSIONS

Results of the current pilot study indicate that high acculturation to the U.S. among aMCI immigrants from Latin-American countries may hinder performance on verbal learning measures when they are administered in one's primary language. Moreover, in this cohort, a higher literacy level, which is indicative of greater cognitive reserve, was associated with better performance in language measures, but with greater atrophy in brain regions susceptible to neurodegenerative disease. These preliminary findings should be further examined among larger cohorts and using more diverse measures, which capture other cultural constructs.