Regression-based Norms for a Neuropsychological Screening Battery in the Filipino Population

Background: Evaluation of cognitive health is an important aspect of clinical care for individuals with neurologic and/or psychiatric conditions. To our knowledge, prior studies have not established normative data for cognitive health among adults residing in the Philippines. Objective: This study aimed to adapt a multidomain cognitive testing protocol optimized for cultural relevance and establish empirically derived normative data adjusted for demographic factors using regression-based methods. Methods: We recruited healthy Filipino adults ages 18–65 years. Study participants underwent a multidomain cognitive testing protocol examining seven neurocognitive domains. We generated normative scoring systems using regression-based methods using age, sex assigned at birth, level of education, and body mass index as predictors. We defined statistical significance as p <0.05. Results: Two hundred ninety-six sex-matched participants with a mean age of 40.7 years (SD 12.7) and 10.81 years of education (SD 4.3) completed the multidomain cognitive testing protocol. In all domains, lower age, higher level of education, and female sex were associated with better test performance. For grip strength, male sex and higher body mass index were significantly associated with better performance. Conclusion: This study provides support for a multidomain cognitive test protocol designed for diverse populations. Furthermore, we established normative data for the clinical interpretation of neurocognitive performance in the Filipino population.