Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-8bljj Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-04T23:26:15.724Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The association between educational parameters and a cognitive screening measure in older blacks

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2017

Alyssa A. Gamaldo ,
Angie L. Sardina ,
Richard T. Corona ,
Kurtis Willingham ,
Rafael V. Migoyo  and
Ross A. Andel
Alyssa A. Gamaldo*
Affiliation:
Human Development and Family Studies, Penn State University, University Park, PA, USA School of Aging Studies, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA
Angie L. Sardina
Affiliation:
School of Aging Studies, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA
Richard T. Corona
Affiliation:
School of Aging Studies, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA
Kurtis Willingham
Affiliation:
School of Aging Studies, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA
Rafael V. Migoyo
Affiliation:
School of Aging Studies, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA
Ross A. Andel
Affiliation:
School of Aging Studies, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital, Brno, Czech Republic
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Alyssa A. Gamaldo, PhD, Human Development and Family Studies, Penn State University, 204 Health & Human Development Building, University Park, PA 16802, USA. Phone: +814-865-5260; Fax: +814-863-6207. E-mail: [email protected].
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background:

To expand on prior literature by examining how various education parameters (performance-based reading literacy, years of education, and self-rated quality of education) relate to a cognitive screening measure's total and subscale scores of specific cognitive abilities.

Methods:

Black adults (age range: 55–86) were administered self-rated items years of education and quality of education, and a measure of performance-based reading literacy. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) was used to screen for overall cognitive functioning as well as performance on specific cognitive abilities.

Results:

Sixty-nine percent of the sample had reading grade levels that were less than their reported years of education. Lower years of education and worse reading literacy are associated with poorer MMSE performance, particularly on the attention and calculation subscales.

Conclusions:

Years of education, a commonly used measure for education, may not be reflective of Black adults’ educational experiences/qualities. Thus, it is important to account for the unique educational experiences of adults that could influence their MMSE performance. Incorporating quality and quantity of education will provide a more comprehensive understanding of the individual's performance on cognitive measures, specifically as it relates to sociocultural differences.

Keywords

education quantityreading literacyeducation qualitycognitive screeningblack adults
Type
Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 30 , Issue 3: Issue Theme: Psychosocial Interventions for Dementia , March 2018 , pp. 311 - 322
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aiken-Morgan, A. T., Gamaldo, A. A., Sims, R. C., Allaire, J. C. and Whitfield, K. E. (2015). Education desegregation and cognitive change in African American older adults. The Journals of Gerontology. Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 70, 348–356. doi:10.1093/geronb/gbu153CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Albert, S. M. and Teresi, J. A. (1999). Reading ability, education, and cognitive status assessment among older adults in Harlem, New York City. American Journal of Public Health, 89, 95–97.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Alzheimer's Association. (2013). 2013 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures. Alzheimer's & Dementia, 9, 208–245. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jalz.2013.02.003CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Black, S. A. et al. (1999). The influence of noncognitive factors on the mini-mental state examination in older Mexican-Americans: findings from the hispanic EPESE. Established population for the epidemiologic study of the elderly. The Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 52, 1095–1102.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Clark, P. C. et al. (2005). Impediments to timely diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease in African Americans. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 53, 2012–2017. doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.2005.53569.xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dotson, V. M., Kitner-Triolo, M. H., Evans, M. K. and Zonderman, A. B. (2009). Effects of race and socioeconomic status on the relative influence of education and literacy on cognitive functioning. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 15, 580–589. doi:10.1017/s1355617709090821CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Economic Policy Institute. (2016). Family budget calculator. Available at: http://www.epi.org/resources/budget/; last accessed 6 October 2016.Google Scholar
Escobar, J. I., Burnam, A., Karno, M., Forsythe, A., Landsverk, J. and Golding, J. M. (1986). Use of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) in a community population of mixed ethnicity: cultural and linguistic artifacts. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 174, 607–614.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Folstein, M. F., Bassett, S. S., Anthony, J. C., Romanoski, A. J. and Nestadt, G. R. (1991). Dementia: case ascertainment in a community survey. The Journal of Gerontology, 46, M132–138.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Folstein, M. F., Folstein, S. E. and McHugh, P. R. (1975). Mini-mental state. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 12, 189–198.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hensel, A., Angermeyer, M. C. and Riedel-Heller, S. G. (2007). Measuring cognitive change in older adults: reliable change indices for the mini-mental state examination. The Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, 78, 1298–1303. doi:10.1136/jnnp.2006.109074CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hill, Y., Lomas, L. and MacGregor, J. (2003). Students’ perceptions of quality in higher education. Quality Assurance in Education, 11, 15–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, R. N. and Gallo, J. J. (2002). Education and sex differences in the mini-mental state examination effects of differential item functioning. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 57, P548–P558.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lyons, B. P. (1997). Sociocultural Differences between American-Born and West Indian-Born Elderly Blacks: A Comparative Study of Health and Social Service Use. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.Google Scholar
Manly, J. J. et al. (1998). Cognitive test performance among nondemented elderly African Americans and Whites. Neurology, 50, 1238–1245.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Manly, J. J., Jacobs, D. M., Touradji, P., Small, S. A. and Stern, Y. (2002). Reading level attenuates differences in neuropsychological test performance between African American and White elders. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 8, 341–348.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Marshall-Fabien, G. L. and Miller, D. B. (2016). Exploring ethnic variation in the relationship between stress, social networks, and depressive symptoms among older Black Americans. Journal of Black Psychology, 42, 54–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Montine, T. (2013). Alzheimer's Disease-Related Dementias: Research Challenges and Opportunities. Available at: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/funding/areas/neurodegeneration/workshops/adrd2013/; last accessed 6 October 2016.Google Scholar
Murden, R. A., McRae, T. D., Kaner, S. and Bucknam, M. E. (1991). Mini-Mental State Exam scores vary with education in blacks and whites. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 39, 149–155.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
O'Carroll, R. E., Prentice, N., Murray, C., Van Beck, M., Ebmeier, K. P. and Goodwin, M. (1995). Further evidence that reading ability is not preserved in Alzheimer's disease. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 167, 659–662.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parker, C. and Philip, I. (2004). Screening for cognitive impairment among older people in black and minority ethnic groups. Age and Ageing. doi:10.1093/ageing/afh135CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Parker, C., Philip, I., Sarai, M. and Rauf, A. (2007). Cognitive screening for people form minority ethnic backgrounds. Nursing Older People, 18, 31–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rohit, M. et al. (2007). Education correction using years in school or reading grade-level equivalent? Comparing the accuracy of two methods in diagnosing HIV-associated neurocognitive impairment. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 13, 462–470. doi:10.1017/S1355617707070506CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sayegh, P., Arentoft, A., Thaler, N. S., Dean, A. C. and Thames, A. D. (2014). Quality of education predicts performance on the wide range achievement test-4th edition word reading subtest. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 29, 731–736. doi:10.1093/arclin/acu059CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schmand, B., Smit, J. H., Geerlings, M. I. and Lindeboom, J. (1997). The effects of intelligence and education on the development of dementia. A test of the brain reserve hypothesis. Psychological Medicine, 27, 1337–1344.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stern, Y. (2002). What is cognitive reserve? Theory and research application of the reserve concept. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 8, 448–460.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Strauss, E., Sherman, E. M. and Spreen, O. (2006). A Compendium of Neuropsychological Tests: Administration, Norms, and Commentary. USA: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Szanton, S. L., Thorpe, R. J. and Whitfield, K. (2010). Life-course financial strain and health in African-Americans. Social Science & Medicine, 71, 259–265. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.04.001CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Teresi, J. A., Golden, R. R., Cross, P., Gurland, B., Kleinman, M., and Wilder, D. (1995). Item bias in cognitive screening measures: comparisons of elderly white, Afro-American, Hispanic and high and low education subgroups. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 48, 473–483.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thorpe, R. J., Szanton, S. L., Bell, C. N. and Whitfield, K. E. (2013). Education, income and disability in African Americans. Ethnicity & disease, 23, 12–17.Google ScholarPubMed
Tierney, M. C., Szalai, J. P., Dunn, E., Geslani, D. and McDowell, I. (2000). Prediction of probable Alzheimer disease in patients with symptoms suggestive of memory impairment. Value of the mini-mental state examination. Archives of Family Medicine, 9, 527–532.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Weiss, B. D., Reed, R., Kligman, E. W. and Abyad, A. (1995). Literacy and performance on the mini-mental state examination. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 43, 807–810.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Whitfield, K. E. et al. (2000). The effect of race and health-related factors on naming and memory. The MacArthur studies of successful aging. Journal of Aging and Health, 12, 69–89.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Whitfield, K. E. and Hayward, M. (2003). The landscape of health disparities among older adults. Public Policy & Aging Report, 13, 1–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whitfield, K. and Aiken Morgan, A. (2008). Minority populations and cognitive aging. In Hofer, S. M. and Alwin, D. F. (eds.), Handbook of Cognitive Aging: Interdisciplinary Perspectives (pp. 384–397). Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whitfield, K. and Hayward, M. (2003). Public policy and aging report. National Academy of An Aging Society, 13, 1–24.Google Scholar
Wilkinson, G. S. (1993). Wide Range Achievement Test-Revision 3. Wilmington, DE: Jastak Association.Google Scholar