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Multisite study for norming and standardizing neuropsychological instruments in healthy people for Spanish population: methods and characteristics of Normacog project

R. del Pino, J. Peña, D.J. Schretlen, N. Ibarretxe-Bilbao, N. Ojeda DOI: https://doi.org/10.33588/rn.6102.2014481

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Volumen 61 | Number 02 | Nº of views of the article 9.248 | Nº of PDF downloads 1.151 | Article publication date 16/07/2015

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ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION Many neuropsychological tests used in Spain have been normed on Spanish-speaking persons in the USA and South America. In addition, the normative samples often span limited age or educational ranges, potentially decreasing their representativeness of the population, the interpretation of test results, and clinical decisions based on them. This study is part of the Normacog project which seeks to standardize neuropsychological instruments in a representative sample of Spanish society.

AIM To present the normalization methodology undertaken in the Normacog project and the sociodemographic characteristics of participants and Spanish population.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS Seven hundred and eleven participants aged 18-90 years were recruited from different geographical regions in Spain. Their sociodemographic characteristics, medical history, habits, native language, bilingualism and handedness were taken into account. Each participant completed 19 tests that assess a wide variety of cognitive domains such as verbal and visual memory, executive functions, processing speed or naming and verbal fluency.

RESULTS The final normative sample mirrors the population of Spain in age, education, and sex distributions.

CONCLUSIONS This article describes the normalization methodology and the characteristics of participants included in the multicenter Normacog study. This study seeks to standardize and normalize neuropsychological instruments, taking into account the sociodemographic characteristics of Spanish population. The Normacog project will provide normative data that are appropriate to our cultural environment, and essential for using these measures to form reliable clinical and diagnostic inferences. KeywordsMethodology Neuropsychological instruments Normalization Norms Spanish population Standardization

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Original

Multisite study for norming and standardizing neuropsychological instruments in healthy people for Spanish population: methods and characteristics of Normacog project