Mexican American adults who frequently speak both English and Spanish have better cognition, new UT Austin and UTMB study finds
New research suggests that Mexican American older adults who use English and Spanish with similar frequency demonstrate slower cognitive decline than those who use primarily one language. The findings by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin and The University of Texas Medical Branch, which were published this month in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, could impact treatment of dementia in older adults.
“Our findings are evidence that the ability to speak multiple languages and use both regularly in daily life may have benefits for older Mexican American adults’ cognitive functioning,” said Brian Downer, associate professor in the Department of Population Health & Health Disparities at UTMB and lead author on the paper.
“Although the positive effects of bilingualism have been previously documented, our findings suggest a robust effect in Mexican Americans, who we know are at a greater risk for experiencing cognitive decline, which makes this finding particularly exciting,” said Stephanie Grasso, an assistant professor in the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences at UT Austin’s Moody College of Communication.
