Assessment of the Hispanic Cognitively Impaired Elderly Patient

Liliana Ramirez Gomez; Felipe A Jain; Lina M D'Orazio

doi:10.1016/j.ncl.2017.01.003

Assessment of the Hispanic Cognitively Impaired Elderly Patient

Neurol Clin. 2017 May;35(2):207-229. doi: 10.1016/j.ncl.2017.01.003.

Authors

Liliana Ramirez Gomez¹, Felipe A Jain², Lina M D'Orazio³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, 400 Parnassus Avenue, A871, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, 401 Parnassus Avenue, Box 0984, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA.
³ Department of Neurology, Keck School of Medicine of USC, 1520 San Pablo Street, HCCII, Suite 3000, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA.

PMID: 28410657
DOI: 10.1016/j.ncl.2017.01.003

Abstract

Hispanics are the largest minority group in the United States, approximately 7% of the population older than 65. They often encounter challenges related to health care access and quality of care. The prevalence of dementia among Hispanics is higher than that of non-Hispanic whites and they frequently present at a more advanced stage of illness. Cognitive evaluation should take into account sociodemographic information and cultural factors to avoid misdiagnosis and guide management. A provider who has knowledge of Hispanic culture should conduct the neuropsychological assessment, and tests used to measure cognitive functioning should be developed for Hispanics in the United States.

Keywords: Cognitive impairment; Dementia; Hispanics; Neuropsychological assessment.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Aging*
Cognition Disorders / diagnosis*
Cognition Disorders / epidemiology
Cognition Disorders / ethnology*
Dementia / diagnosis*
Hispanic or Latino*
Humans
Neuropsychological Tests*