Cardiff Online Cognitive Assessment in a National Sample: Cross-Sectional Web-Based Study

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Digital Health

Background:

• Psychiatric disorders frequently involve cognitive impairments.
• A web-based, 9-task cognitive battery was previously developed to assess cognitive domains affected in psychiatric conditions.
• This assessment has been utilized in clinical samples of individuals with psychiatric disorders.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a briefer, valid version of the cognitive battery, termed the Cardiff Online Cognitive Assessment (CONCA).
• To establish CONCA as a measure of general cognitive ability ('g').
• To gather normative data and demonstrate CONCA's utility in a general health population.

Main Methods:

• Selected 5 of 9 original tasks based on prior study data and 6 criteria for CONCA.
• Included 3 core tasks for 'g' measurement and 2 optional tasks.
• Administered CONCA to participants from the HealthWise Wales national cohort study, analyzing completion rates, sample characteristics, performance, and associations with demographics and mental health.

Main Results:

• 3,679 participants completed at least one CONCA task; 3,135 completed all 3 core tasks.
• CONCA performance correlated with age, device type (tablet/smartphone), education level, and symptoms of depression and anxiety.
• Associations were observed in expected directions, indicating CONCA's sensitivity to demographic and mental health factors.

Conclusions:

• CONCA provides a valid measure of 'g' using only 3 tasks, requiring approximately 15 minutes.
• Performance on CONCA is associated with demographic characteristics and current depression/anxiety symptoms.
• Device type is a significant factor influencing cognitive performance in web-based assessments.