Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience (Oct 2021)

Harmonisation and Between-Country Differences of the Lifetime of Experiences Questionnaire in Older Adults

  • Valentin Ourry,
  • Valentin Ourry,
  • Natalie L. Marchant,
  • Ann-Katrin Schild,
  • Nina Coll-Padros,
  • Olga M. Klimecki,
  • Pierre Krolak-Salmon,
  • Karine Goldet,
  • Leslie Reyrolle,
  • Romain Bachelet,
  • Lena Sannemann,
  • Dix Meiberth,
  • Harriet Demnitz-King,
  • Tim Whitfield,
  • Maëlle Botton,
  • Julie Lebahar,
  • Julie Gonneaud,
  • Robin de Flores,
  • José Luis Molinuevo,
  • Frank Jessen,
  • Denis Vivien,
  • Denis Vivien,
  • Vincent de la Sayette,
  • Vincent de la Sayette,
  • Michael J. Valenzuela,
  • Michael J. Valenzuela,
  • Géraldine Rauchs,
  • Miranka Wirth,
  • Gaël Chételat,
  • Eider M. Arenaza-Urquijo,
  • Eider M. Arenaza-Urquijo,
  • The Medit-Ageing Research Group

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2021.740005
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13

Abstract

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Background: The Lifetime of Experiences Questionnaire (LEQ) assesses complex mental activity across the life-course and has been associated with brain and cognitive health. The different education systems and occupation classifications across countries represent a challenge for international comparisons. The objectives of this study were four-fold: to adapt and harmonise the LEQ across four European countries, assess its validity across countries, explore its association with brain and cognition and begin to investigate between-country differences in life-course mental activities.Method: The LEQ was administered to 359 cognitively unimpaired older adults (mean age and education: 71.2, 13.2 years) from IMAP and EU-funded Medit-Ageing projects. Education systems, classification of occupations and scoring guidelines were adapted to allow comparisons between France, Germany, Spain and United Kingdom. We assessed the LEQ's (i) concurrent validity with a similar instrument (cognitive activities questionnaire - CAQ) and its structural validity by testing the factors' structure across countries, (ii) we investigated its association with cognition and neuroimaging, and (iii) compared its scores between countries.Results: The LEQ showed moderate to strong positive associations with the CAQ and revealed a stable multidimensional structure across countries that was similar to the original LEQ. The LEQ was positively associated with global cognition. Between-country differences were observed in leisure activities across the life-course.Conclusions: The LEQ is a promising tool for assessing the multidimensional construct of cognitive reserve and can be used to measure socio-behavioural determinants of cognitive reserve in older adults across countries. Longitudinal studies are warranted to test further its clinical utility.

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