Education, age, and cognitive impairment of elderly residents in long-term institutions

Abstract

Objective. To analyze the relation among age, education and poten­tial cognitive loss in elderly residents in long-term institutions for the elderly (LTIEs). Method. This is a cross-sectional, descriptive and quantitative study realized with 24 old-aged residents in two LTIEs in the city of Fortaleza/CE using the Mini-Mental State Examina­tion (MMSE). The sample was divided into three age groups (65-69, 70-79 and 80-90 years) and three educational levels (illiterate, poor school and middle/high school level). Results. The general average score of the elderly in MMSE was 19.2±6.8 scores [min=8, max=30]. When only age was considered, the lower MMSE was associated to the 80-90 years group (16.9±6.9) and the largest to the 70-79 years group (21.7±6.9). Regarding only education, the group of illiter­ate women had the lowest average (14±6.3), although elderly with middle/high school had the highest mean scores (23.6±6.7). In the combined analysis of both variables, it was found that the lowest mean scores belonged to the group of illiterate elderly women aged 80-90 years (13.5±6.2) and the highest mean to the elderly with middle/high educational level aged 70-79 years (26.5±4.9). Conclusion. School­ing and age influence the performance in the MMSE.