Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders
Volume 47, Issue 4-6, 2019, Pages 345-354

Assessment of Visual Association Memory in Low-Educated, Non-Western Immigrants with the Modified Visual Association Test (Article) (Open Access)

Franzen S. , Van Den Berg E. , Kalkisim Y. , Van De Wiel L. , Harkes M. , Van Bruchem-Visser R.L. , De Jong F.J. , Jiskoot L.C. , Papma J.M.
  • a Department of Neurology, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center, Wytemaweg 80, CN Rotterdam, NL-3015, Netherlands
  • b Department of Neurology, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center, Wytemaweg 80, CN Rotterdam, NL-3015, Netherlands
  • c Department of Neurology, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center, Wytemaweg 80, CN Rotterdam, NL-3015, Netherlands, Department of Medical Psychology, Maasstad Ziekenhuis, Rotterdam, Netherlands
  • d Department of Medical Psychology, Maasstad Ziekenhuis, Rotterdam, Netherlands
  • e Department of Geriatric Medicine, Maasstad Ziekenhuis, Rotterdam, Netherlands
  • f Department of Internal Medicine, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands
  • g Department of Neurology, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center, Wytemaweg 80, CN Rotterdam, NL-3015, Netherlands
  • h Department of Neurology, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center, Wytemaweg 80, CN Rotterdam, NL-3015, Netherlands
  • i Department of Neurology, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center, Wytemaweg 80, CN Rotterdam, NL-3015, Netherlands

Abstract

Background: Neuropsychological tests are influenced by culture, language, level of education, and literacy, but there are few cognitive tests of which the applicability in ethnic minority populations has been studied. Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the reliability and validity of the Visual Association Test (VAT), a test of visual association memory, in a non-Western, low-educated memory clinic population. Additionally, a modified version of the VAT using colored photographs instead of line drawings was studied (mVAT). Method: Both the original VAT and the mVAT were administered to non-Western immigrants (n = 73) from 2 multicultural memory clinics in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, and a control sample of non-demented Turkish elderly (n = 14) with low education levels (32 and 29% illiterate, respectively). Results: Both the VAT and the mVAT were able to discriminate persons with and without dementia (area under the curve: VAT, 0.77-0.88; mVAT, 0.85-0.95). The mVAT had more homogeneous item difficulty levels than the VAT. Administration of parallel versions of the VAT and the mVAT within the same person revealed higher scores on the mVAT (Z =-3.35, p = 0.001). Conclusions: The mVAT is a reliable and valid measure of memory in non-Western immigrants. Clinicians and researchers should be aware that the memory performance of immigrants may be systematically underestimated when using tests with black-and-white line drawings, such as the original VAT. © 2019 S. Karger AG, Basel. All rights reserved.

Author Keywords

Dementia Education Alzheimer's disease Cognition Neurodegenerative diseases Literacy Cross-cultural comparison

Index Keywords

Netherlands educational status receiver operating characteristic Dementia internal consistency human controlled study priority journal Aged screening test neuropsychological test male female drawing mini mental state examination Article photography major clinical study visual memory visual association test memory assessment modified visual association test discriminant validity convergent validity
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85069526415&doi=10.1159%2f000501151&partnerID=40&md5=5ba3feff86e1a1fbace4ca048730bc0a
DOI: 10.1159/000501151
ISSN: 14208008
Original Language: English