Objective:
Early detection of Alzheimer’s disease through speech analysis has become an increasingly important research direction. However, the specific acoustic parameters associated with cognitive decline remain unclear. This study aims to describe the relationship between speech characteristics and cognitive performance in Mandarin-speaking older adults. We examined perturbation measures (jitter and shimmer), pitch range, maximum and minimum F0, number of voice breaks, signal-to-noise ratio, and reading time. We further analyzed whether these acoustic features were associated with Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores or age. The goal was to identify speech-acoustic characteristics that may emerge during cognitive decline.

Methods:
A total of 40 native Mandarin-speaking older adults participated in the recording. Each participant completed the MMSE and performed tasks including sustained vowel reading, sentence reading, and paragraph reading. In the vowel task, participants produced each vowel at both lower and higher pitch levels. The sentence reading task consisted of four declarative sentences. From the sustained vowels, we extracted Jitter (local, rap, ppq5, ddp), Shimmer (local, apq, dda), maximum and minimum F0, and F0 range. Speech rate was measured from the sentence and paragraph reading tasks. Correlation analyses were then conducted to explore the relationships between MMSE scores, age, and these acoustic variables.

Results:
Shimmer and signal-to-noise ratio from sustained vowels, and the number of voice breaks in paragraph reading, were negatively correlated with MMSE scores, indicating that speakers with lower cognitive scores exhibited greater vocal perturbation. Jitter, F0 range, minimum F0, and maximum F0 were not significantly correlated with MMSE. Reading time for the paragraph showed a significant negative correlation with MMSE scores, suggesting that participants with lower cognitive scores read more slowly.

Conclusion:
The findings provide descriptive evidence that vocal perturbation and reading rate are related to cognitive performance in Mandarin-speaking older adults. Shimmer, number of voice breaks, and speech rate may serve as potential indicators in future research on the relationship between speech and cognition in aging populations.