Validation of the Norma Latina Neuropsychological Assessment Battery in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease in Mexico

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Sep 8;19(18):11322. doi: 10.3390/ijerph191811322.

Abstract

To our knowledge, this is the first study reported in the literature that has validated the Norma Latina Battery in a population of people with Alzheimer's disease (AD) in Mexico. The objective of the study was to determine the discriminant validity of the Norma Latina Battery in a group of Mexican individuals with AD and a group of heathy controls (HC). The Norma Latina Battery was administered to 234 Mexican participants (117 HC and 117 individuals with AD). Results show that: (1) the Norma Latina Battery has high discriminative capacity between groups in all domains; (2) participants with AD presented worse scores in each of the cognitive domains compared to the HC and a greater number of low scores in each of the established thresholds or cut-off points; and finally, (3) the Norma Latina Battery had optimal sensitivity and specificity, especially when a set was observed ≥5 scores below the 10th percentile or ≥4 scores below the 5th percentile. In conclusion, it is recommended that both clinicians and researchers use this battery in the evaluation of Mexican people with AD to better understand the prognosis of the disease and its subsequent treatment.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; Latin America; Mexico; cognitive problems; neuropsychological assessment.

MeSH terms

  • Alzheimer Disease* / psychology
  • Cognitive Dysfunction* / psychology
  • Hispanic or Latino
  • Humans
  • Mexico
  • Neuropsychological Tests
  • Psychometrics

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding.