Three verbal fluency tasks: Normative data and convergent validity in Argentines over 50 years

Area of Science:

• Neuropsychology
• Cognitive Assessment
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Verbal fluency tasks are vital in neuropsychological assessment due to their ease of use and sensitivity to early cognitive impairment.
• Limited availability of updated norms, particularly for action fluency, and scarce validity evidence exist for these tasks in Argentina.
• Establishing reliable normative data is essential for accurate cognitive evaluation in the Argentine population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish normative data for three verbal fluency tasks (phonological, semantic, and action) in an Argentine nonclinical population.
• To analyze the convergent validity of these verbal fluency tasks.
• To provide age- and education-corrected norms for improved neuropsychological assessment in Argentina.

Main Methods:

• Recruited 303 Argentines (aged 50-91) from a nonclinical population, excluding individuals with conditions affecting cognitive performance.
• Administered phonological, semantic, and action verbal fluency tasks, alongside the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and Digit Span-WAIS III tests.
• Employed nonprobability sampling and analyzed data using correlations and multiple regressions.

Main Results:

• Age and education significantly explained variance in all fluency tasks (11.8% to 20.2%).
• Established normal performance limits: phonological (9-14), semantic (11-18), and action (8-17), varying by age and education.
• Demonstrated positive correlations between verbal fluency tasks and between fluency tasks and cognitive screening tests (MoCA, Digit Span).

Conclusions:

• The study provides age- and education-corrected norms for three verbal fluency tasks, supporting their use in the Argentine context.
• Acceptable evidence of convergent validity was found, enhancing the utility of these tasks for neuropsychological assessment.
• These findings contribute to more accurate identification of cognitive impairment in Argentina.