Assessment of the Cognitive Impairment in the Elderly Persons Admitted in a Tertiary Care Hospital: A Pilot Study

Abstract

 Abstract

Background: Cognitive slowness increases with advancing age. To take necessary measures

both to prevent and manage, frequent assessment of the cognitive functions is required. Aim:

To assess the cognitive impairment among elderly persons (aged 60 to 70 years). Methods: A

descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital in North India.

Using convenience sampling, a total of 30 patients admitted at the time of data collection and

meeting the inclusion criteria were selected as samples. An interview schedule was used to

collect data. Mini mental status examination (Folstein, 1975) was used to assess the cognition.

Average time given to complete one MMSE was 7 min (ranged from 5–10 min). Results: More

than half (52%) were in the age group of 62–63 years. The mean age of the subjects was

63.96±3.56 years. More than half (60%) had mild cognitive impairment, 20% each had

normal and moderate cognitive impairment. The mean age for report of mild and moderate

cognitive impairment was 63.53±3.6 and 66.60±3.0 years respectively. None of the subjects

has severe cognitive impairment. Conclusion: The study showed that cognitive impairment

worsens with age and the age of 60–64 years can be said to be the transition period for

beginning impairment of cognition.

Keywords: Elderly, cognitive impairment, MMSE

Cite this Article

Latika Rohilla, Karobi Das, Sukhpal

Kaur. Assessment of the Cognitive

Impairment in the Elderly Persons

Admitted in a Tertiary Care Hospital: A

Pilot Study. Journal of Nursing Science

and Practice. 2017; 7(2): 20–24p.