Educational Disparities and Lower Cognitive Performance on MMSE and RUDAS Despite Neuroanatomical and Functional Preservation in Aging: Insights from Peru
Our findings show that urban Peruvians with low education score significantly lower on the MMSE and RUDAS, even with similar age, sex, brain structure, and function. This highlights the limitations of these assessments in accounting for educational disparities, potentially misclassifying healthy individuals as impaired. These results emphasize the need for culturally and educationally adapted cognitive screening tools to ensure accurate assessments in diverse populations. More work is needed to identify brief, culturally appropriate cognitive assessments validated for varying educational levels.
Authors
- Pamela Bartolo
- José Carlos Huilca (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5561-4702)
- Diego Bustamante‐Paytan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1073-1961)
- Karol Melissa Lipa‐Pari
- Katherine Agüero (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1137-1363)
- Zadith Yauri (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-8101-513X)
- Daniela Bendezu
- Maria Fe Albujar‐Pereira
- Gregory Brown
- Rosa Montesinos
- Graciet Verastegui
- Nilton Custodio
- Agustin Ibanez
Institutions
- University of California, San Francisco (US)
- Universidad de Lima (PE)
- Adolfo Ibáñez University (CL)
- Universidad de San Martín de Porres (PE)
- Hospital Nacional Cayetano Heredia (PE)
- Forum Solidaridad Perú (PE)
- Institute of Peruvian Studies (PE)
- Global Brain Health Institute (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Alzheimer s & Dementia
- Published
- 2025-12-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/alz70857_104841
- Primary Topic
- Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00