Immigration History and Cognitive Function in Elderly US Hispanics

Background and Objectives. Few reports have examined the Hispanic Paradox with regard to cognitive function, most of which have led to inconclusive results. This study tested the null hypothesis that foreign-born and US-born Hispanics over age 60 have the same scores on cognitive function tests. Research Design and Methods. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey assessed cognitive functioning in 588 Hispanic participants aged 60 years and older in 2011 - 2014. The Digit Symbol Substitution test (DSST), CERAD Word Learning test and Animal Fluency Test (AFT) were administered. Results. Linear multiple regression analysis showed significantly lower test scores among foreign-born than US-born women for DSST and AFT and men for DSST independent of confounding variables. There was no significant difference in CERAD scores. Conclusion. Foreign-born Hispanic women aged 60 and over had lower scores than the US-born on two of three tests of cognitive function.