Cognitive complaints compared to performance on a mental state screening test in elderly outpatients

• Autor(a) principal: Kochhann,Renata
• Data de Publicação: 2008
• Outros Autores: Camozzato,Ana Luiza, Godinho,Cláudia, Cerveiro,Maria Otília, Forster,Letícia M.K., Chaves,Márcia Lorena Fagundes
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Dementia & Neuropsychologia
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1980-57642008000100046
• topic: cognitive complaint; aging; elderly; Mini Mental State Exam; cognitive decline associated with aging; dementia; depression; memory

Abstract Memory and other cognitive complaints are common in the elderly population. However, the clinical meaning of these complaints remains controversial. Objectives: The goal of this study was to investigate the association between cognitive complaints and performance on a mental state screening test in elderly patients attended for the first time at the Neurogeriatric and Dementia (NGA) Outpatient Clinic within a major University hospital. Methods: Two hundred patients referred to the NGA Clinic during 2005, 2006 and 2007 first semesters participated in the study. The variables of interest were: (a) source of and reason for referral; (b) whether or not they had previously been evaluated with the screening test (Mini Mental State Exam - MMSE) by their physicians before referral to our specialized clinic; (c) cognitive complaints; and (d) performance on the screening test (MMSE) at the NGA Clinic. Results: The main reason for referral to the NGA clinic was cognitive complaints 63% (N=126), where only 5% (N=10) of the referred patients had been previously evaluated by the cognitive screening test (MMSE or equivalent). Of the 135 patients who presented cognitive complaints during the first appointment, 52 (38%) presented MMSE scores below the education-adjusted cut-off. No association between cognitive complaint and performance on the MMSE during the first evaluation at the NGA Clinic was observed (c²=3.04, p=0.1). Conclusions: Although cognitive complaints among elders should not be disregarded, the mental state screening evaluation is crucial for the detection of clinically significant cognitive impairment.