Assessment of cognitive status of Institutionalized Seniors in India.

Introduction: Cognitive decline in senior population is no longer regarded as a consequence of the aging process. Nevertheless, seniors are at an elevated risk of developing cognitive deficits with advancing age. Hence, alterations in cognitive function often call for prompt action. In older individuals, cognitive functioning is likely to decline during transition from the community settings to old age homes. Materials and Methods: The Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) was used to assess the cognitive status of senior women residing in old age homes of Delhi NCR region. The maximum score obtained on the MMSE is 30. A score of 23 or less suggests the presence of cognitive impairment. Completion of the MMSE takes approximately 5-10 minutes and is therefore regarded as a pragmatic tool which can be utilized for cognitive assessment in seniors. The researcher of this study recruited eighty-five older women after screening two hundred and twelve institutionalized seniors. After obtaining informed consent, the researcher started recruiting subjects randomly from the six old age homes in Delhi NCR. The MMSE was administered to the subjects and scores were recorded by the research investigator. Results: The subjects of this study had a lower level of education as compared to their counterparts in the developed countries. Almost 51% of the subjects had barely studied upto the tenth grade and had found it difficult to complete high school education. The mean MMSE score was found to be 21.7 (5.3). It was observed that on the basis of MMSE cognitive status classification, 4.7% seniors had severe cognitive deficits (score ranging between 0 and 9), 16.5% seniors had moderate cognitive impairment (score ranging between 10 and 19), 49.4% seniors had mild cognitive impairment (scores ranging between 20 and 24), and 29.4% seniors had no cognitive deficits (scores ranging between 25 and 30). Conclusion: The MMSE is useful for assessment of cognitive status in seniors who are educated and at least high school graduates. The low educational level of the women contributed towards poor performance on MMSE. It is recommended to use other tools in combination of MMSE to carry out a comprehensive cognitive status assessment of seniors living in old age homes in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]