Assessment of cognitive status in the elderly: most affected areas

Abstract

Introduction: Altered mental state becomes the elderly dependent, limited self-care and generates long-term care.

Objective: To assess the cognitive status of the elderly and identify the cognitive abilities most af­fected by gender, age and education.

Methodology: A cross-sectional study of non probabilistic descriptive quantitative approach was conducted in a rehabilitation and rest house in Mex­ico DF. The sample was 78 adults over 60 years, 41 women and 37 men. We made an assessment of cognitive status using the Minimental which objetive to establish a diagnosis of cognitive functions. Were considered four variables: Cognitive status, gender, age and education.

Results: Of the 78 people found that 47.4% were male and 52.6% female, 40.5% was found in the group of 60-69 years, 32.1% of seniors earned a university de­gree in 23.1% of the population severe deterioration was observed, 44.9% mild deterioration. The Areas with more impairment were the area of abstraction (calcu­lation) 46.2% had severe deterioration in the area of short-term memory 47.4% severe cognitive impairment was found and in the language area was 11.5%.

Conclusions: Evaluate and detect cognitive im­pairment will allow awareness to the family, look for models of care and attention to strengthen the welfare of the elderly.