Digital health and survey response patterns among Hispanic/Latinx older adults with and without mild cognitive impairment: The COMPADRE‐CART study

TL;DR

This study explores how digital health tools and survey responses differ between Hispanic/Latinx older adults with and without mild cognitive impairment.

Contribution

The study introduces longitudinal home-based digital monitoring to detect subtle functional differences in MCI among Hispanic/Latinx adults.

Findings

Participants with MCI had lower weekly survey completion rates compared to cognitively unimpaired adults.

MCI participants took longer to complete surveys and reported higher pain levels.

No significant differences were found in daily activity patterns between the two groups.

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD) are a leading global public health concern, with an increased prevalence among underserved populations, including Hispanic/Latinx adults. However, cognitive and functional changes among Hispanic/Latinx adults remain understudied. COMPADRE‐CART is an ongoing longitudinal study that uses home‐based technology to detect health and activity changes among Hispanic/Latinx adults. Here, we examined differences in home‐based activity patterns and weekly digital survey completion metrics and responses between cognitively unimpaired (CU) adults and those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) at baseline.

Hispanic/Latinx participants, aged 62 years and older, were recruited from the South Texas catchment area. Participants completed the Uniform Data Set (UDS 3) clinical and cognitive assessments at baseline and received home‐based technology to continuously monitor their health and activity patterns. Room transitions, time spent outside the home, and time spent in independent spaces were evaluated using room sensors (NYCE). Steps per day and total sleep time were obtained from a wrist‐worn actigraph (Withings). Self‐reported mood and health changes were derived from weekly digital surveys (Qualtrics). Descriptive statistics were used to characterize activity and response patterns. Differences between the CU and MCI groups were evaluated using independent samples t‐tests.

Among 111 participants (n = 80 CU, n = 31 MCI, Table 1), we found no significant differences between groups in daily activity patterns (i.e., steps per day, sleep duration, time spent outside the home, room transitions, and time in independent spaces, p > 0.05, Table 2). However, participants with MCI showed lower weekly survey completion rates (36.7% vs. 55.2%, p =  0.024) and required longer time to complete the survey (168.6 vs. 117.7 seconds, p < 0.001) (Table 3). Additionally, those with MCI reported higher pain levels (3.0 vs 1.8 on a 0‐10 scale, p =  0.044), though self‐reported pain interference with daily activities did not differ significantly. Other self‐reported health events, including falls, hospitalizations, mood changes, and loneliness, showed similar frequencies across both groups.

Weekly digital questionnaire metrics show promise in detecting subtle functional differences between MCI and CU Hispanic/Latinx adults. Longitudinal monitoring may provide more insight into whether these differences predict cognitive decline over time.

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