Factor Structure of the Neuropsychological Battery in the Mexican Cognitive Aging Ancillary Study (Mex-Cog)

Abstract

Objective: The Mexican Cognitive Aging Ancillary Study (Mex-Cog) administers a comprehensive cognitive assessment based on the Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol (HCAP). To ensure accurate measurement of cognition for older adults in Mexico, we sought to determine the cognitive factor model of the Mex-Cog battery at Wave 1. Method: Participants were 2,042 adults over the age of 55 living in Mexico in 2016, selected from the Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS) survey of 2015. We used confirmatory factor analysis to assess and refine a theoretically driven multiple domain hierarchical factor structure. Correlation estimates between cognitive scores and age and education were evaluated. Results: The hierarchical general cognition and five-domain models (orientation, memory, language, executive functioning, visuospatial) were identified as reasonable models for summarizing performance in this sample. Cognitive domains were negatively associated with age (rs=−.31 to −.49) and positively associated with education (rs=.43 to.74). Conclusions: The Mex-Cog battery demonstrated a reliable cognitive factor structure that assesses the domains of orientation, memory, language, executive functioning, and visuospatial functioning. A hierarchical general cognition factor score was also created. The derived scores can be used to accurately demonstrate cognitive performance among Mexican older adults. Future work will focus on measurement invariance across demographic groups and evaluating the factor structure of Wave 2.