title: Screening for dementia in Arabic: normative data from an elderly Lebanese sample.
abstract: Prevention and treatment of dementia is a global concern that requires involvement of international samples. The purpose of this study is to develop culturally sensitive norms based on normal older Lebanese adults using multiple cognitive screening measures translated into Arabic for regional use.
  
  
  
  Participants were 164 community dwelling older Lebanese adults without cognitive complaints. They were administered the following cognitive measures in Arabic: Alzheimer's Disease 8-item questionnaire, Montreal Cognitive Assessment, Mini Mental Status Exam, Modified Mini Mental Status, Brief Visuospatial Memory Test-Revised, Lebanese Digit Span, Cross-Linguistic Naming Test, and phonemic and semantic fluency tests.
  
  
  
  Sample characteristics and descriptive statistics for the demographically unadjusted raw scores are first presented (N = 164). Same-form test-retest reliability for each test were computed for 24 participants retested over 2-5 weeks, with reliabilities ranging from .55 to .90; Cronbach alpha coefficients ranged from .34 to .93. Two sets of normative data were constructed. First, base-rates for demographically unadjusted raw scores for the 5th, 10th and 15th percentiles are presented to identify relatively rare occurring performances. Second, using standardized regression-based procedures demographically corrected normative information adjusted for age, education and sex were generated for normative interpretation.
  
  
  
  Adapting cognitive tests for use in culturally and linguistically diverse regions of the world not only requires careful translation of test instructions and materials, but construction of culturally sensitive local norms. Our normative data should allow for more accurate identification of cognitive impairment and dementia in Arabic-speaking patients, especially those living in Lebanon.
authors.affiliation: a Faculty of Medical Sciences , Lebanese University , Hadath , Lebanon.|b Memory Clinic, Division of Neurology , Saint Charles Hospital , Fayadieh , Lebanon.
authors.forename: Fadi
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-5800-6120
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Abou-Mrad
authors.affiliation: c Center for Alzheimer's Care, Imaging, and Research , University of Utah , USA.
authors.forename: Gordon
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Chelune
authors.affiliation: c Center for Alzheimer's Care, Imaging, and Research , University of Utah , USA.
authors.forename: Edward
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zamrini
authors.affiliation: a Faculty of Medical Sciences , Lebanese University , Hadath , Lebanon.|b Memory Clinic, Division of Neurology , Saint Charles Hospital , Fayadieh , Lebanon.
authors.forename: Lubna
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tarabey
authors.affiliation: d Faculty of Medicine , St Joseph University (USJ) , Beirut , Lebanon.|e Lebanon Memory Group for Clinical Research , GMRC-Liban , Beirut , Lebanon.
authors.forename: Maryse
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hayek
authors.affiliation: d Faculty of Medicine , St Joseph University (USJ) , Beirut , Lebanon.|e Lebanon Memory Group for Clinical Research , GMRC-Liban , Beirut , Lebanon.
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fadel
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction / Q000175:diagnosis; D003704:Dementia / Q000175:diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D057187:Independent Living; D007861:Lebanon; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012660:Semantics; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014175:Translating; D014177:Translations
keywords: Arabic; Cross-cultural; Lebanon; cognitive screening; dementia; normative data; regression-based norms