%0 Journal Article %J J Alzheimers Dis %D 2021 %T Is Acculturation Associated with the Cognitive Performance of Older Hispanics? %A Alam, Rifat B %A Singleton, Chelsea R %A Aguiñaga, Susan %A Chodzko-Zajko, Wojtek %A Jahan, Nilufer A %A Oke, Adeyosola %A Schwingel, Andiara %X

BACKGROUND: Hispanics in the United Statues are disproportionately affected by Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. Little is known about the impact of acculturation on cognitive performance.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the association between acculturation and cognitive performance among older Hispanics.

METHODS: We analyzed cross-sectional data of 616 Hispanic participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011-2014 [average age = 67.15 years, %Female = 51.46, %less than high-school graduate = 52.60]. Cognitive performance was measured by two neuropsychological tests: Animal Fluency Test (AFT) and Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST). We used two single-item proxy measures to quantify acculturation: nativity status (non-US-born residing <  15 years in the US (low acculturation), non-US-born residing ≥15 years in the US, and US-born (high acculturation)); and language acculturation (only/mostly Spanish (low acculturation), Spanish and English, only/mostly English (high acculturation)). We used adjusted linear regression to evaluate associations between acculturation and cognitive performance.

RESULTS: Results indicated poorer cognitive performance among the low-acculturated groups for both nativity and linguistic measures. Participants who were non-US-born living ≥15 years (p = 0.02) and speaking only/mostly Spanish or Spanish and English (p = 0.01 and 0.006 respectively) had significantly lower AFT scores compared to US-born and only/mostly English-speaking groups. Participants who were non-US-born living <  15 years (p <  0.0001) or non-US-born living ≥15 years (p <  0.0001) and speaking only/mostly Spanish (p = 0.0008) scored lower on the DSST than the US-born and only/mostly English-speaking participants.

CONCLUSION: In summary, low acculturation is associated with poorer cognitive performance among older Hispanics. Acculturation might be an important attribute to help understand cognitive decline and dementias among Hispanics.

%B J Alzheimers Dis %V 85 %P 535-544 %8 2022 Jan 18 %G eng %N 2 %R 10.3233/JAD-210502