Influence of Educational Background, Childhood Socioeconomic Environment, and Language Use on Cognition among Spanish-Speaking Latinos Living Near the US–Mexico Border

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Lily Kamalyan ◽  
Lesley A. Guareña ◽  
Mirella Díaz-Santos ◽  
Paola Suarez ◽  
Mariana Cherner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Test Performance ◽  
Culturally Relevant ◽  
Cognitive Test ◽  
Socioeconomic Environment ◽  
Spanish Speaking ◽  
The Us ◽  
Relevant Variables ◽  
Mexico Border ◽  
Cognitive Test Performance ◽  
Us Mexico Border

Abstract Objectives: We investigated the impact of culturally relevant social, educational, and language factors on cognitive test performance among Spanish speakers living near the US–Mexico border. Methods: Participants included 254 healthy native Spanish speakers from the Neuropsychological Norms for the US–Mexico Border Region in Spanish (NP-NUMBRS) project (Age: M = 37.3, SD = 10.4; Education: M = 10.7, SD = 4.3; 59% Female). A comprehensive neuropsychological battery was administered in Spanish. Individual test scaled scores and T-scores (based on region-specific norms adjusted for age, education, and sex) were averaged to create Global Mean Scaled and T-scores. Measures of culturally relevant factors included a self-reported indicator of educational quality/access (proportion of education in Spanish-speaking country, quality of school/classroom setting, stopped attending school to work), childhood socioeconomic environment (parental education, proportion of time living in Spanish-speaking country, childhood socioeconomic and health status, access to basic resources, work as a child), and Spanish/English language use and fluency. Results: Several culturally relevant variables were significantly associated with unadjusted Global Scaled Scores in univariable analyses. When using demographically adjusted T-scores, fewer culturally relevant characteristics were significant. In multivariable analyses, being bilingual (p = .04) and working as a child for one’s own benefit compared to not working as a child (p = .006) were significantly associated with higher Global Mean T-score, accounting for 9% of variance. Conclusions: Demographically adjusted normative data provide a useful tool for the identification of brain dysfunction, as these account for much of the variance of sociocultural factors on cognitive test performance. Yet, certain culturally relevant variables still contributed to cognitive test performance above and beyond basic demographics, warranting further investigation.

Evaluation of Health Literacy among Spanish-Speaking Primary Care Patients Along the US–Mexico Border

2012 ◽  
Vol 105 (7) ◽  
pp. 334-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eribeth Penaranda ◽  
Marco Diaz ◽  
Oscar Noriega ◽  
Navkiran Shokar
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Spanish Speaking ◽  
The Us ◽  
Mexico Border ◽  
Primary Care Patients ◽  
Us Mexico Border

scholarly journals Normative Data for Selected Subtests of the WAIS-R in a Spanish-Speaking Adult Population Living in the U.S. – Mexico Border Region

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (7) ◽  
pp. 1274-1274
Author(s):  
T Scott ◽  
A Morlett Paredes ◽  
M Taylor ◽  
A Umlauf ◽  
L Artiola i Fortuny ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Normative Data ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Spanish Speakers ◽  
Border Region ◽  
Adult Intelligence Scale ◽  
Spanish Speaking ◽  
The Us ◽  
Mexico Border ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Us Mexico Border

Abstract Objective Adaptations of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, Revised (WAIS-R) and accompanying norms exist for a limited number of Spanish-speaking populations, but none are available for US-dwelling Spanish speakers of Mexican origin, who make up the largest proportion of Latinas/os in the US. As part of a larger test adaptation and norming effort for Spanish-speakers from the US-Mexico border region, we generated and investigated demographically adjusted interpretive norms for selected WAIS-R subtests. Participants and Method Participants included 183 community-dwelling, primarily Spanish-speaking individuals, aged 20 to 55 (education range: 0-20 years; 58% female), who were residing in the US-Mexico border region. Participants completed the WAIS-R Spanish version (Block Design, Arithmetic, and Vocabulary subtests) as part of a larger neuropsychological battery. Demographically adjusted T-scores were calculated for these subtests using fractional polynomial equations, which controlled for age, education, and sex. We examined rates of neurocognitive impairment (T < 40) in our sample derived from the present demographically adjusted Spanish speaking norms and from the existing WAIS-R demographically adjusted norms for English-speaking Non-Latina/o White and Black adults. Results Based on the normalized distribution of T-scores, the newly developed regional Spanish-speaker norms yielded subtest rates of impaired performance between 13-16% (i.e., within the expected -1 SD). By comparison, the proportion of impaired subtest performances was between 4-6% when applying the existing English-speaking norms to our sample. Conclusions Regional normative data will improve interpretation of test performance on selected WAIS-R subtests for Spanish-speakers living in the US and will facilitate a more valid analysis of neuropsychological profile patterns in this population. Cross-validation with Spanish-speakers in other regions and/or with other national origins is needed.

Qualitative Analysis of Knowledge, Attitudes, and Beliefs About Pessary Use Among Spanish-Speaking Women on the US-Mexico Border

2020 ◽  
Vol Publish Ahead of Print ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro Antonio Maldonado ◽  
Elisha Jackson ◽  
Kate M. Petty ◽  
Nancy Rondeau ◽  
T. Ignacio Montoya ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Analysis ◽  
Attitudes And Beliefs ◽  
Spanish Speaking ◽  
The Us ◽  
Mexico Border ◽  
Analysis Of Knowledge ◽  
Us Mexico Border

scholarly journals Normative Data for the Halstead Category Test in a Spanish-Speaking Adult Population Living in the U.S./México Border Region

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (7) ◽  
pp. 1265-1265
Author(s):  
A Morlett Paredes ◽  
J Carrasco ◽  
M Cherner ◽  
A Umlauf ◽  
M Rivera Mindt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Spanish Speakers ◽  
Border Region ◽  
Category Test ◽  
Spanish Speaking ◽  
Halstead Category Test ◽  
The Us ◽  
Mexico Border ◽  
Us Mexico Border

Abstract Objective To provide norms applicable to Spanish-speakers living in the US- Mexico border region for the Halstead Category Test, a test of executive function. Participants and Method Healthy Spanish-speakers (n = 252) were recruited from the US–Mexico border regions (Age: M = 37.3, SD = 10.2, range 19-60; Education: M = 10.7, SD = 4.3, range 0-20; 58% female). Participants completed the Category Test as part of a larger neuropsychological test battery. Relationships between demographic variables and raw error scores were assessed using Spearman and Wilcoxon Rank-sum tests. Demographically corrected T-scores for the Category Test were normed using fractional polynomial equations accounting for age, education, and sex. For comparison, T-scores were also computed for the Spanish-speaking normative sample using published norms for English-speaking non-Hispanic Whites and African Americans, which were also adjusted for age, education and sex. Impairment rates based on -1SD (T < 40) were calculated using both, published and current, norms. Results Older age was significantly associated with higher number of errors (Spearman ρ = 0.32, p < .001) and higher education was associated with lower number of errors (Spearman ρ = -0.52, p < .001), with no other significant demographic effects. Applying non-Hispanic norms resulted in overestimation of impairment rates in the Spanish-speaking sample (impairment rate: 48% with White norms and 27% with African American norms). This pattern was evident across levels of education except in participants with 13+ years of education, where rates of impairment using African American norms were comparable to those based on the newly developed norms. Conclusions The present study is the first to develop norms for the Category test in a sample of Spanish-speakers in the US-Mexico border region. These norms will provide tools for the assessment of executive function in this population. Research concerning generalizability of norms to other Spanish-speaking populations is needed.

California

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto Alvarez
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
Social Cartography ◽  
Family Network ◽  
The Family ◽  
The Us ◽  
Mexico Border ◽  
Police Surveillance ◽  
Us Mexico Border

I utilize my situated position as anthropologist, academician, and citizen to argue not only that we should “think” California, but also that we should “rethink” our state—both its condition and its social cartography. To be clear, I see all my research and endeavors—my research on the US/Mexico border; my time among the markets and entrepreneurs I have worked and lived with; my focus on those places in which I was raised: Lemon Grove, Logan Heights; the family network and my community ethnographic work—as personal. I am in this academic game and the telling of our story because it is personal. When Lemon Grove was segregated, it was about my family; when Logan Heights was split by the construction of Interstate 5 and threatened by police surveillance, it was about our community; when the border was sanctioned and militarized it again was about the communities of which I am a part. A rethinking California is rooted in the experience of living California, of knowing and feeling the condition and the struggles we are experiencing and the crises we have gone through. We need to rethink California, especially the current failure of the state. This too is ultimately personal, because it affects each and every one of us, especially those historically unrepresented folks who have endured over the decades.

scholarly journals Saliva RNA biomarkers predict concussion duration and detect symptom recovery: a comparison with balance and cognitive testing

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory Fedorchak ◽  
Aakanksha Rangnekar ◽  
Cayce Onks ◽  
Andrea C. Loeffert ◽  
Jayson Loeffert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Test Performance ◽  
Area Under The Curve ◽  
Prediction Rule ◽  
Cognitive Testing ◽  
Cognitive Test ◽  
Clinical Tool ◽  
Post Injury ◽  
Symptom Recovery ◽  
Cognitive Test Performance

Abstract Objective The goals of this study were to assess the ability of salivary non-coding RNA (ncRNA) levels to predict post-concussion symptoms lasting ≥ 21 days, and to examine the ability of ncRNAs to identify recovery compared to cognition and balance. Methods RNA sequencing was performed on 505 saliva samples obtained longitudinally from 112 individuals (8–24-years-old) with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Initial samples were obtained ≤ 14 days post-injury, and follow-up samples were obtained ≥ 21 days post-injury. Computerized balance and cognitive test performance were assessed at initial and follow-up time-points. Machine learning was used to define: (1) a model employing initial ncRNA levels to predict persistent post-concussion symptoms (PPCS) ≥ 21 days post-injury; and (2) a model employing follow-up ncRNA levels to identify symptom recovery. Performance of the models was compared against a validated clinical prediction rule, and balance/cognitive test performance, respectively. Results An algorithm using age and 16 ncRNAs predicted PPCS with greater accuracy than the validated clinical tool and demonstrated additive combined utility (area under the curve (AUC) 0.86; 95% CI 0.84–0.88). Initial balance and cognitive test performance did not differ between PPCS and non-PPCS groups (p > 0.05). Follow-up balance and cognitive test performance identified symptom recovery with similar accuracy to a model using 11 ncRNAs and age. A combined model (ncRNAs, balance, cognition) most accurately identified recovery (AUC 0.86; 95% CI 0.83–0.89). Conclusions ncRNA biomarkers show promise for tracking recovery from mTBI, and for predicting who will have prolonged symptoms. They could provide accurate expectations for recovery, stratify need for intervention, and guide safe return-to-activities.

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