Remote versus in‐person cognitive testing: the impact of visit modality on longitudinal cognitive outcomes in older adults
9 affiliations
- 1Department of Neurology Massachusetts General Hospital Boston Massachusetts USA
- 2Penn Alzheimer's Disease Research Center University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia Pennsylvania USA
- 3Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology, Department of Medicine University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health Madison Wisconsin USA
- 4Department of Neurology Wake Forest School of Medicine Winston‐Salem North Carolina USA
- 5Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center Rush University Medical Center Chicago Illinois USA
- 6Oregon Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Department of Neurology Oregon Health and Science University Portland Oregon USA
- 7Indiana Alzheimer's Disease Research Center Indiana University School of Medicine Indianapolis Indiana USA
- 8Neurology and Public Health Departments University of Chicago Chicago Illinois USA
- 9Harvard Medical School Boston Massachusetts USA
Abstract
Introduction: The COVID‐19 pandemic accelerated adoption of remote cognitive assessments in Alzheimer's disease (AD) research, yet comparability across visit modalities remains unclear. This study evaluated whether visit modality influenced cognitive performance.
Methods: We analyzed 27,144 visits from 13,219 participants across 37 Alzheimer's Disease Research Centers (March 2020 to December 2024), including in‐person, telephone, and video visits, among adults aged ≥65 years. Linear mixed‐effects models examined associations between visit modality and cognitive performance.
Results: Remote assessments comprised 20.8% of visits and were associated with slightly higher Montreal Cognitive Assessment scores than in‐person visits for both telephone and video modalities (p < 2.0E‐16; Cohen's d = 0.21 to 0.26). Domain analyses showed modestly higher memory and attention performance during remote visits, with minimal differences in executive function or language.
Discussion: Remote cognitive assessments showed largely comparable performance to in‐person testing, supporting their validity and potential to improve accessibility and inclusiveness in AD research.
Related
- Influence of Preoperative Perforator Mapping Modality on Outcomes in DIEP Flap Breast Reconstruction: A Multicenter Registry Analysis
- Liver Investigation: Testing Marker Utility in Steatohepatitis (LITMUS): Assessment & validation of imaging modality performance across the NAFLD spectrum in a prospectively recruited cohort study (the LITMUS imaging study): Study protocol
- Systematic Modality Ablation of Multimodal Machine Learning for Predicting 24-Month Progression from Mild Cognitive Impairment to Alzheimer's Disease
- Dose- and modality-specific effects of exercise on BDNF and depression in middle-aged and older adults with mild cognitive impairment: A Bayesian network meta-analysis
- Optimizing exercise prescriptions for older adults with mild cognitive impairment: a dose–response network meta-analysis of modality–dose combinations on executive function
BibTeX
@article{leng2026remote,
title = {{Remote versus in‐person cognitive testing: the impact of visit modality on longitudinal cognitive outcomes in older adults}},
author = {Yu Leng and Yingnan He and Dawn Mechanic‐Hamilton and Lindsay R. Clark and Bonnie C. Sachs and Melissa Lamar and Zachary T. Beattie and Andrew J. Saykin and Lisa L. Barnes and Kevin Duff and Ana W. Capuano and Sudeshna Das},
journal = {Alzheimer's \& Dementia : Diagnosis, Assessment \& Disease Monitoring},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1002/dad2.70530},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/dad2.70530},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Remote versus in‐person cognitive testing: the impact of visit modality on longitudinal cognitive outcomes in older adults
AU - Yu Leng
AU - Yingnan He
AU - Dawn Mechanic‐Hamilton
AU - Lindsay R. Clark
AU - Bonnie C. Sachs
AU - Melissa Lamar
AU - Zachary T. Beattie
AU - Andrew J. Saykin
AU - Lisa L. Barnes
AU - Kevin Duff
AU - Ana W. Capuano
AU - Sudeshna Das
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/02
JO - Alzheimer's & Dementia : Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring
DO - 10.1002/dad2.70530
UR - https://doi.org/10.1002/dad2.70530
AB - Introduction: The COVID‐19 pandemic accelerated adoption of remote cognitive assessments in Alzheimer's disease (AD) research, yet comparability across visit modalities remains unclear. This study evaluated whether visit modality influenced cognitive performance. Methods: We analyzed 27,144 visits from 13,219 participants across 37 Alzheimer's Disease Research Centers (March 2020 to December 2024), including in‐person, telephone, and video visits, among adults aged ≥65 years. Linear mixed‐effects models examined associations between visit modality and cognitive performance. Results: Remote assessments comprised 20.8% of visits and were associated with slightly higher Montreal Cognitive Assessment scores than in‐person visits for both telephone and video modalities (p < 2.0E‐16; Cohen's d = 0.21 to 0.26). Domain analyses showed modestly higher memory and attention performance during remote visits, with minimal differences in executive function or language. Discussion: Remote cognitive assessments showed largely comparable performance to in‐person testing, supporting their validity and potential to improve accessibility and inclusiveness in AD research.
SN - 2352-8729
ER -