Retest reliability and reliable change of community-dwelling Black/African American older adults with and without mild cognitive impairment using NIH Toolbox-Cognition Battery and Cogstate Brief Battery for laptop

Taylor Rigby; Voyko Kavcic; Sarah R Shair; Tanisha G Hill-Jarrett; Sarah Garcia; Jon Reader; Carol Persad; Arijit K Bhaumik; Subhamoy Pal; Benjamin M Hampstead; Bruno Giordani

doi:10.1017/S1355617724000444

Retest reliability and reliable change of community-dwelling Black/African American older adults with and without mild cognitive impairment using NIH Toolbox-Cognition Battery and Cogstate Brief Battery for laptop

J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 2024 Dec 20:1-11. doi: 10.1017/S1355617724000444. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Taylor Rigby^{1

2

3

4}, Voyko Kavcic⁵, Sarah R Shair⁴, Tanisha G Hill-Jarrett^{6

7}, Sarah Garcia⁸, Jon Reader^{1

9}, Carol Persad^{1

2}, Arijit K Bhaumik^{1

2

9}, Subhamoy Pal^{1

9}, Benjamin M Hampstead^{1

2

4}, Bruno Giordani^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Michigan Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, MI, USA.
² Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, MI, USA.
³ Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Geriactric Research Education and Clinical Center, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
⁴ Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
⁵ Wayne State University, MI, USA.
⁶ Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, University of California San Francisco, CA, USA.
⁷ Global Brain Health Institute, University of California San Francisco, CA, USA.
⁸ Department of Psychology, Stetson University, FL, USA.
⁹ Department of Neurology, University of Michigan, MI, USA.

PMID: 39703061
DOI: 10.1017/S1355617724000444

Abstract

Objective: With the increased use of computer-based tests in clinical and research settings, assessing retest reliability and reliable change of NIH Toolbox-Cognition Battery (NIHTB-CB) and Cogstate Brief Battery (Cogstate) is essential. Previous studies used mostly White samples, but Black/African Americans (B/AAs) must be included in this research to ensure reliability.

Method: Participants were B/AA consensus-confirmed healthy controls (HCs) (n = 49) or mild cognitive impairment (MCI) (n = 34) adults 60-85 years that completed NIHTB-CB and Cogstate for laptop at two timepoints within 4 months. Intraclass correlations, the Bland-Altman method, t-tests, and the Pearson correlation coefficient were used. Cut scores indicating reliable change provided.

Results: NIHTB-CB composite reliability ranged from .81 to .93 (95% CIs [.37-.96]). The Fluid Composite demonstrated a significant difference between timepoints and was less consistent than the Crystallized Composite. Subtests were less consistent for MCIs (ICCs = .01-.89, CIs [-1.00-.95]) than for HCs (ICCs = .69-.93, CIs [.46-.92]). A moderate correlation was found for MCIs between timepoints and performance on the Total Composite (r = -.40, p = .03), Fluid Composite (r = -.38, p = .03), and Pattern Comparison Processing Speed (r = -.47, p = .006).On Cogstate, HCs had lower reliability (ICCs = .47-.76, CIs [.05-.86]) than MCIs (ICCs = .65-.89, CIs [.29-.95]). Identification reaction time significantly improved between testing timepoints across samples.

Conclusions: The NIHTB-CB and Cogstate for laptop show promise for use in research with B/AAs and were reasonably stable up to 4 months. Still, differences were found between those with MCI and HCs. It is recommended that race and cognitive status be considered when using these measures.

Keywords: Computerized neuropsychological assessment; computerized cognitive assessment; practice effects; psychometrics; reliability of tests; reproducibility of results.