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OBJECTIVES: 1. Assess validity of the Oxford Cognitive Screen (OCS-Plus), a domain-specific cognitive assessment designed for low-literacy settings, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC); 2. Advance theoretical contributions in cognitive neuroscience in domain-specific cognitive function and cognitive reserve, especially related to dementia. METHOD: In a cross-sectional study of a sample of 1,402 men and women aged 40-79 in the Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa (HAALSI), we administered OCS-Plus along with health and sociodemographic assessments. HAALSI is a representative sample of older adults in Agincourt, South Africa contributing to normative understanding of cognition in LMIC. We report measure distributions, construct and external validity of the OCS-Plus. RESULTS: OCS-Plus has excellent construct and external validity. Intra-class correlations between similar basic measures of orientation in OCS-Plus and in HAALSI assessments was 0.79, and groups of people performing well on the OCS-Plus verbal memory also showed superior performance on HAALSI verbal memory. The OCS-Plus scores showed consistent associations with age and education and domain-specific associations with alcohol and depression. Younger respondents and the more educated did better on all assessments. DISCUSSION: The OCS-Plus represents a major methodological advance in dementia studies in LMICs, and enhances understanding of cognitive aging.

Original publication

DOI

10.1093/geronb/gbw139

Type

Journal article

Journal

J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci

Publication Date

01/2017

Volume

72

Pages

38 - 50

Keywords

Agincourt, Cognition, Cognitive screens in LMIC, HAALSI, INDEPTH, OCS-Plus, South Africa