Cognitive test performance via videoconference in Spanish-speaking Puerto Rican older adults: An exploratory study

This study aimed to develop the first exploratory, descriptive data on teleneuropsychological test performance for Spanish-speaking Puerto Rican older adults, addressing a critical gap in culturally, linguistically, and technologically relevant research in this population.

A total of 127 community-dwelling Puerto Rican adults aged 55 and older (M = 64.6, SD = 7.2) completed a videoconference-administered cognitive battery. Measures included the Mini-Mental State Examination, Modified Boston Naming Test, Logical Memory subtests, Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD) Word List Learning, Digit Span, and verbal fluency tasks. A novel, culturally appropriate phonemic fluency set ("P," "A," "N") tailored to Puerto Rican Spanish was also introduced. Sociodemographic variables (age, education, sex, bilingualism, and income) were examined as predictors of performance.

Analyses indicated significant effects of age and education on test measures. Older age was associated with lower scores, and participants with higher education consistently outperformed peers with fewer years of schooling. No robust sex differences were found. Although bilingualism and income initially showed associations with performance, their effects were attenuated after adjusting for education. Performance on the novel letter fluency task followed predicted frequency patterns ("P" > "A" > "N") and was sensitive to both age and education.

The findings provide preliminary reference points that describe demographic influences on videoconference-based cognitive performance in a sample of Puerto Rican older adults. While not intended as clinical norms, these descriptive data contribute to the growing evidence base for teleneuropsychology in underrepresented populations and may inform future regression-based normative or comparison studies.