Acculturation links to test scores but not cognitive decline

In an observational study, researchers analysed data from 5,976 middle-aged and older Hispanic and Latino adults. They assessed acculturation, the adoption of Anglo-American culture, using three measures at an initial visit. Participants were grouped into quartiles for each measure. Seven years later, those in the lowest quartiles for social and language acculturation scales had lower global cognitive scores than all other groups. For the third measure, the lowest quartile had lower global cognitive scores relative to the highest quartile. However, acculturation was not associated with changes in cognition over seven years, or with the prevalence of mild cognitive impairment, an early stage of cognitive decline.