H - 45 Preliminary Teleneuropsychological Normative Data for the Mini Mental State Examination for Puerto Rican Adults.

Abstract

Established guidelines for teleneuropsychology (TeleNP) indicate that normative studies are warranted for future regular use of TeleNP practice (Bilder et al., 2020). Consequently, this study aims to explore the impact of demographic factors to provide preliminary normative data for the Mini Mental State Exam (MMSE) via TeleNP for Spanish-speaking Puerto Ricans. A TeleNP version of the MMSE was administered as part of a larger neuropsychological battery to 102 cognitively healthy Puerto Ricans (69% female) between 55-78years old, 4-23years of education (Age: M = 63.2, SD = 6.1; Education: M = 16.3, SD = 3.5) and residing on the island. A thorough neurological/psychiatric history and the CERAD Wordlist were used to exclude (< 2 SD; 1 removed case) any dementia-suspicious case. Multiple regression analysis was used to clarify if age, education, or sex significantly predicted MMSE total score. Normative data was generated and stratified by statistically significant demographics. Frequency of the most missed item was reviewed. Age and education explained 26% of the variance of the MMSE score (p < 0.001). The total sample had an average raw score of M = 29.08 (SD = 1.16). Normative scores are presented according to age and education level. Most frequently missed item was delayed recall (35%; ≤2/3). This study provides preliminary normative data for cognitively healthy and community-dwelling Puerto Rican adults, which can improve diagnostic accuracy and reduce rates of false negatives while providing clinicians a TeleNP-appropriate screening tool. Future research with the MMSE via TeleNP should include a larger sample, including a clinical population.