Prevalence and determinants of cognitive impairment in an elderly population: A hospital based study

Abstract

: Dementia and cognitive impairment (CI) are some of the common problems associated with ageing. However, a lot of other factors apart from ageing can increase this risk. In this study, prevalence of CI and its correlation with different sociodemographic and clinical factors was assessed among patients attending outpatient department of a geriatric healthcare facility.: A total of 240 elderly OPD patients (>60 years) having recovered from different acute illnesses or making follow-up visits were enrolled in the study. Critically ill, hospitalized patients and those with history of COVID-19 exposure were excluded from the study. Demographic and social profile of the patients was noted. Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) was used for assessment of cognition. MMSE score <27 was considered as CI. Data was analyzed using chi-square test for univariate and binary logistic regression for multivariate assessment. Mean age of patients was 72.58±6.46 years (range 62-91 years), majority of patients were males (55%). Prevalence of CI was 41.2%. There were 59 (24.6%) elderly with mild and 40 (16.7%) with moderate cognitive impairment. On univariate assessment, older age (p=0.003), male sex (p=0.024), living without spouse (p=0.040) and history of hospitalization in last one year (p=0.031) were found to be significantly associated with CI. On logistic regression age (OR=1.072), female sex (OR=0.561), ability to perform routine work (OR=0.461) and hospitalization history (OR=1.823) were identified as independent predictors of CI.: Prevalence of CI was 41.2% in our study. Age, sex, ability to perform routine works and hospitalization history were independently associated with CI risk.