TY - JOUR

T1 - Bilingualism, executive control, and age at diagnosis among people with early-stage Alzheimer's disease in Wales

AU - Clare, Linda

AU - Whitaker, Christopher J

AU - Craik, Fergus I M

AU - Bialystok, Ellen

AU - Martyr, Anthony

AU - Martin-Forbes, Pamela A

AU - Bastable, Alexandra J M

AU - Pye, Kirstie L

AU - Quinn, Catherine

AU - Thomas, Enlli M

AU - Gathercole, Virginia C Mueller

AU - Hindle, John V

N1 - © 2014 The British Psychological Society.

PY - 2016/9

Y1 - 2016/9

N2 - The observation of a bilingual advantage in executive control tasks involving inhibition and management of response conflict suggests that being bilingual might contribute to increased cognitive reserve. In support of this, recent evidence indicates that bilinguals develop Alzheimer's disease (AD) later than monolinguals, and may retain an advantage in performance on executive control tasks. We compared age at the time of receiving an AD diagnosis in bilingual Welsh/English speakers (n = 37) and monolingual English speakers (n = 49), and assessed the performance of bilinguals (n = 24) and monolinguals (n = 49) on a range of executive control tasks. There was a non-significant difference in age at the time of diagnosis, with bilinguals being on average 3 years older than monolinguals, but bilinguals were also significantly more cognitively impaired at the time of diagnosis. There were no significant differences between monolinguals and bilinguals in performance on executive function tests, but bilinguals appeared to show relative strengths in the domain of inhibition and response conflict. Bilingual Welsh/English speakers with AD do not show a clear advantage in executive function over monolingual English speakers, but may retain some benefits in inhibition and management of response conflict. There may be a delay in onset of AD in Welsh/English bilinguals, but if so, it is smaller than that found in some other clinical populations. In this Welsh sample, bilinguals with AD came to the attention of services later than monolinguals, and reasons for this pattern could be explored further.

AB - The observation of a bilingual advantage in executive control tasks involving inhibition and management of response conflict suggests that being bilingual might contribute to increased cognitive reserve. In support of this, recent evidence indicates that bilinguals develop Alzheimer's disease (AD) later than monolinguals, and may retain an advantage in performance on executive control tasks. We compared age at the time of receiving an AD diagnosis in bilingual Welsh/English speakers (n = 37) and monolingual English speakers (n = 49), and assessed the performance of bilinguals (n = 24) and monolinguals (n = 49) on a range of executive control tasks. There was a non-significant difference in age at the time of diagnosis, with bilinguals being on average 3 years older than monolinguals, but bilinguals were also significantly more cognitively impaired at the time of diagnosis. There were no significant differences between monolinguals and bilinguals in performance on executive function tests, but bilinguals appeared to show relative strengths in the domain of inhibition and response conflict. Bilingual Welsh/English speakers with AD do not show a clear advantage in executive function over monolingual English speakers, but may retain some benefits in inhibition and management of response conflict. There may be a delay in onset of AD in Welsh/English bilinguals, but if so, it is smaller than that found in some other clinical populations. In this Welsh sample, bilinguals with AD came to the attention of services later than monolinguals, and reasons for this pattern could be explored further.

KW - Age of Onset

KW - Aged

KW - Aged, 80 and over

KW - Aging

KW - Alzheimer Disease

KW - Cognition Disorders

KW - Cohort Studies

KW - Cross-Sectional Studies

KW - Executive Function

KW - Female

KW - Humans

KW - Language Tests

KW - Male

KW - Mental Status Schedule

KW - Middle Aged

KW - Multilingualism

KW - Neuropsychological Tests

KW - Statistics, Nonparametric

KW - Wales

KW - Journal Article

KW - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

U2 - 10.1111/jnp.12061

DO - 10.1111/jnp.12061

M3 - Article

C2 - 25420578

VL - 10

SP - 163

EP - 185

JO - Journal of Neuropsychology

JF - Journal of Neuropsychology

SN - 1748-6653

IS - 2

ER -