Interpreting reliable change on the Spanish-language NIH toolbox cognition battery

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychology
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Assessing cognitive change in Spanish-speaking populations requires culturally relevant tools.
• The NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery (NIHTB-CB) is a widely used neuropsychological assessment.
• Establishing test-retest reliability is crucial for interpreting score changes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To apply a reliable change methodology to test-retest data of the Spanish-language NIHTB-CB.
• To generate specific cutoffs for determining significant cognitive change in Spanish-speaking adults.
• To provide clinicians and researchers with tools to interpret cognitive fluctuations in this demographic.

Main Methods:

• Utilized test-retest data from a normative sample of 48 Spanish-speaking adults.
• Calculated test-retest means, standard deviations, and intraclass correlations.
• Determined reliable change cutoffs using 70%, 80%, and 90% confidence intervals for raw scores, age-adjusted standard scores, and demographic-adjusted T-scores.

Main Results:

• Provided specific reliable change cutoffs for individual NIHTB-CB tests and composite scores (fluid, crystallized, total cognition).
• Highlighted cutoffs based on an 80% confidence interval, indicating change exceeding 90% of the sample.
• Demonstrated variability in cutoffs across different cognitive tests and score types (SS, T-scores).

Conclusions:

• The study provides essential, data-driven cutoffs for interpreting cognitive change in Spanish-speaking adults using the NIHTB-CB.
• These cutoffs serve as a valuable resource for clinical and research applications involving Spanish-speaking populations.
• This work enhances the utility of the NIHTB-CB for longitudinal assessment in diverse linguistic groups.