Factors Associated With Cognitive Status in the Elderly

Lead sponsor

Pamukkale University is the lead sponsor of 331 studies on the registry; 61 are open to participants now.

Study population

Groups and cohorts

• Elderly participants living at home

  Participants over the age of 65, living at home, not having mental and communication problems that would prevent the evaluations, and volunteering to participate in the study. The sociodemographic information of the participants such as gender, duration of education, living environment and people with whom they live were recorded. In addition, information about the medical condition of geriatric individuals, such as body mass indexes and the number of drugs used, was also recorded in the form. In order to evaluate the cognitive status of the participants, the Standardized or Standardized Mini-Mental Test for the Uneducated was used according to their educational status. The Center for Disease Control Health-Related Quality of Life-4 Scale (CDC HRQoL-4) was used to assess quality of life, and the Geriatric Depression Scale was used to assess emotional status. In addition, the presence of pain and pain levels according to body regions were determined with a 6-point Likert-type scale.

Primary outcomes

1. Center for Disease Control and Prevention Health-Related Quality of Life-4 Scale

   The quality of life of the elderly participants was evaluated with the first question of the CDC HRQOL-4 scale. The Turkish validity-reliability study of the scale is a short and understandable scale used to evaluate the quality of life. This scale consists of 4 questions evaluating the general health of the participants, their physical and mental health in the last 30 days, and how activities such as self-care, work, school, and hobbies have been affected by their physical or mental problems in the last 30 days. In question 1, general health was defined as excellent, very good, good, fair, and poor. In the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th questions, the number of days in the last 30 days when the participant felt unwell physically and mentally, and the number of days the person could not perform his daily activities due to physical and/or mental problems are recorded.

   Time frame: Two years

2. Standardized Mini-Mental Test

   Standardized Mini-Mental Test was applied to determine the cognitive levels of the participants. For the illiterate elderly, SMMT, which is used for the uneducated, was applied in our study. In this test, orientation (10 points), recording memory (3 points), attention and calculation (5 points), recall (3 points) and language (9 points) were collected under 5 main headings. It consists of 11 items and is evaluated over a total of 30 points. Results; 27-30 points are within normal limits, 24-27 points are mild cognitive impairment, below 24 points are considered severe cognitive impairment. The Turkish validity and reliability study of the questionnaire was conducted in 2002.

   Time frame: Two years

3. Geriatric Depression Scale

   The scale was prepared for the geriatric individuals to easily mark and answer "yes" or "no". It consists of 30 questions. In the scoring of the scale, 1 point is given for each response in favor of depression and 0 point is given for the other answer, and the result is accepted as the depression score. Scoring of the scale was made as "no depression" with 0-10 points, "possible depression" with 11 points, and "definite depression" with 14 and above points. When 14 is taken as the threshold value for Geriatric Depression Scale scores, its specificity approaches 100%. A validity and reliability study of the Geriatric Depression Scale was conducted in the Turkish elderly population.

   Time frame: Two years

4. Assessment of Pain

   The chronic pain status in 10 different body regions of the individuals were assessed in the study. The presence of pain (present or absent) and severity of pain in geriatric individuals were evaluated with a 6-point Likert-type scale (0=no pain, 1=mild, 2=moderate, 3=severe, 4=very severe, 5=unbearable). This pain scale was preferred in order to make it easier for geriatric individuals to understand the severity of pain.

   Time frame: Two years

Publications

• von Arnim CAF, Bartsch T, Jacobs AH, Holbrook J, Bergmann P, Zieschang T, Polidori MC, Dodel R. Diagnosis and treatment of cognitive impairment. Z Gerontol Geriatr. 2019 Jul;52(4):309-315. doi: 10.1007/s00391-019-01560-0. Epub 2019 Jun 3. PubMed 31161337 ↗
• Li CL, Hsu HC. Cognitive function and associated factors among older people in Taiwan: age and sex differences. Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2015 Jan-Feb;60(1):196-200. doi: 10.1016/j.archger.2014.10.007. Epub 2014 Oct 17. PubMed 25456889 ↗
• Kloszewska M, Lyszczarz B, Kedziora-Kornatowska K. Sociodemographic and Health-Related Factors Associated with Severity of Cognitive Impairment in Elderly Patients Hospital-ized in a Geriatric Clinic. Brain Sci. 2021 Jan 29;11(2):170. doi: 10.3390/brainsci11020170. PubMed 33572984 ↗

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No