Feasibility study of a multidomain cognitive assessment in adolescent girls in rural Ethiopia

Poster Session A - Saturday, April 13, 2024, 2:30 – 4:30 pm EDT, Sheraton Hall ABC

Victoria Leavitt¹ (vl2337@cumc.columbia.edu), Eshetu Zerihun Tariku*^2,5, Maku Demuyakor³, Muluken Bekele Sorrie^2,5, Gudina Egata⁴, Stefaan De Henauw⁵, Sean Traynor⁶, Souheila Abbeddou⁵; ¹Columbia University, ²Arba Minch University, Arba Minch, Ethiopia, ³McKing Consulting, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, ⁴Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia, ⁵Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium, ⁶Tufts University, Boston *shared first author

BACKGROUND: A brief assessment of cognition was developed as an outcome for a clinical trial measuring the effectiveness of a micronutrient-fortified flour on cognitive health in adolescent girls in rural Ethiopia (NCT06100146). Here, we evaluated feasibility of a battery of culturally-adapted cognitive measures including a novel digital tool. METHODS: Data collection was planned in Arba Minch, Ethiopia, in November 2023, with participants completing two sessions to determine test-retest reliability. Girls aged 13-19 from three schools were enrolled. Seven tests were evaluated: word and sentence recognition, arithmetic, digit span (forward, backward), Brief Test of Attention (BTA), Symbol Digit Modalities Test, Matrix Reasoning, Brief Visuospatial Memory Test. In a separate pilot, a subset of girls completed the Language & Memory Test (LMT), a novel app-based composite cognitive test. RESULTS: 48 girls completed the battery at baseline; 46 (95.8%) at one-week follow up. Mean age was 15.98 ±1.96 years. Mean administration time for each test was recorded, test-retest reliability was calculated using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), tolerability was noted. All tests had acceptable test-retest reliability (all ICC≧0.6 except digits backward, ICC=0.5). Mean time for completion of the full battery was 40 minutes, which was deemed acceptable. Final battery excluded one trial of BTA for redundancy, and Matrix Reasoning for lack of alternate forms. CONCLUSIONS: Cognitive outcomes selected for inclusion in the final battery represent a reliable, well-tolerated assessment of cognitive function suitable for two timepoint data collection in non-English speaking adolescent girls in rural Africa.

Topic Area: LANGUAGE: Development & aging