Prevalence of Cognitive Impairment in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Introduction: Mild cognitive impairment can be considered as an intermediate clinical state between normal cognitive aging and mild dementia. Elderly people with this impairment represent an at-risk group for the development of dementia. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of cognitive impairment in community-dwelling older adults by Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and its relationship with socio-demographic variables.  Methods: In this analytical-descriptive study, 212 subjects admitted to Hamadan’s day care centers were selected through simple random sampling method. To gather the data, MMSE was used as well as a questionnaire containing demographic variables. Data analysis was completed through SPSS-16.  Results: The sample consisted of 17.9% male, 59.4% of whom were married. According to the results, 96 cases (45.3%) suffered from mild (MMSE≥22), 110 cases (51.9%) from moderate (11≤MMSE≤21) and 6 cases (2.8%) from severe cognitive disorder (MMSE≤10). As findings revealed, factors such as age (Pv = 0.005, r = -0.491) and schooling (Pv < 0.001) are of significant relationship with MMSE score. Discussion: Prevalence of cognitive decline in community-dwelling older adults was of normal range. Hence, familial relations and social support can decrease mental status disorder.