FUNCTIONALITY OF ELDERS WITHOUT DEMENTIA ASSISTED IN A REFERENCE SERVICE

Abstract

Purpose: To study the cognitive and functional profile of elderly people without dementia diagnosis assisted in a referral service in geriatrics, as well as to investigate factors associated with preservation of cognitive and functional capacity. Methods: This is a non-directional cross-over quantitative study, which included 68 elderly in a Geriatrics Outpatient Clinic of the Clinic Hospital of the State University of Campinas. Data were collected from medical records and through the application of the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15), the Scale of Advanced Activities of Daily Life (AADL) and the Questionnaire of Functional Activities of Pfeffer. Results: The final sample consisted of 64 elderly patients with an average age of 78.14 ± 7.86 years, with median years of formal schooling of 2.5 years. The MMSE presented association only with level of education (p = 0.002). Considering the AADL, it has association with age (p = 0.003) and score of the MMSE (p = 0.010). Already the Scale of Pfeffer was associated with gender (p = 0.003) and MMSE (p = 0.000). Conclusion: The study showed that even among seniors who do not present a diagnosis of dementia, it’s found an impairment of functionality related to gender, age and worse performance on MMSE.