Cognitive test battery validated in older adults in Lebanon
In a study of 3,027 older adults in Lebanon, an adapted cognitive protocol showed good model fit and trajectories aligned with age and education.
medRxiv
In a preprint evaluating 3,027 socioeconomically and educationally diverse older adults in Lebanon, researchers implemented and assessed an adapted version of the Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol (HCAP). The work, part of the Lebanon Study on Aging and Health, represents the first large-scale, population-based study of cognitive aging and dementia in an Arab country.
The team culturally adapted the battery and evaluated its psychometric performance using confirmatory factor analyses. The analyses demonstrated good to excellent model fit across both general and domain-specific cognitive domains. Cognitive performance scores tracked expected patterns across age, education levels, and subjective indicators of health and memory. The authors noted that the results aligned with HCAP studies in other countries, supporting cross-national comparability.
Why it matters
The Middle East and North Africa region is projected to experience the fastest growth in dementia burden worldwide, but population-level data on cognitive aging in the region have remained scarce. Validating standardized tools establishes infrastructure for tracking cognitive decline across diverse and underrepresented populations.
Caveats
The findings are presented in a preprint that has not yet completed peer review. The study evaluates the psychometric performance of the adapted battery within Lebanon, and further work is needed to confirm its utility across other Arab nations.
The paper
Show 5 more authors
Ghia Sanjar, Aya El Sammak, Kenneth M. Langa, Stephen J. McCall, Abla Mehio Sibai,American University of Beirut · Georgetown University
medRxiv · 7 Sep 2026 · Preprint, not peer-reviewed
