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

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.