Clinical Manifestations.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology
• Gerontology

Background:

• Latin America faces high dementia risk.
• Early detection of cognitive decline, especially executive functions (EF), is critical.
• The Concept Shifting Test (CST) shows promise for EF assessment but requires adaptation for Latin America.

Purpose of the Study:

• Examine the correlation of the CST with other EF tests.
• Investigate the relationship between CST performance and the APOE-ε4 allele in older adults.
• Evaluate the utility of the CST for cognitive assessment in Latin America.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from the LatAm-FINGERS study.
• Included Trail Making Test (TMT), CST, Stroop Test, and fluency tasks.
• APOE genotyping via PCR-RFLP; correlations analyzed using Jamovi software.

Main Results:

• 1,143 participants from 11 Latin American countries.
• CST shifting scores correlated moderately with TMT-flexibility and weakly with Stroop and fluency tasks.
• No significant differences in CST or TMT performance were found between APOE-ε4 carriers and non-carriers.

Conclusions:

• CST and TMT measure different aspects of executive function, with CST potentially offering a more refined measure of cognitive flexibility.
• The CST is a valuable tool for EF assessment in Latin America but does not replace the TMT.
• Comprehensive cognitive assessment using diverse tools is essential for early dementia detection, regardless of genetic risk factors like APOE-ε4.