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Título

PREVALENCE AND CLINICAL ASPECTS ASSOCIATED WITH COGNITIVE DECLINE IN THE ELDERLY IN THE INTERIOR OF THE AMAZON

Resumo

INTRODUCTION: Dementia represents a worldwide public health problem, due to the extent and severity of its functional, psychological and social manifestations, both for the elderly and their families. Advanced age, low level of schooling and socioeconomic conditions have a great impact on the cognitive decline of the elderly. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the prevalence and clinical aspects associated with cognitive decline in the elderly in the interior of Amazonas. METHOD: This is an observational, cross-sectional population-based study, approved by the Research Ethics Committee (CAAE nº 249.098/2013) and carried out in Coari/AM. After performing the sample calculation, cluster sampling was performed. Inclusion criteria were: 60 years or older and resident in the urban area of ​​Coari. In the data collection, a socioeconomic, demographic, activities of daily living, cognitive status, depression, health status and independence measure were applied. Data were tabulated in electronic spreadsheets and analyzed using Jamovi software. RESULTS: The study was carried out with 274 elderly people, 63.1% female, with a mean of 71.6 years (SD 8.03) and a mean of 3.01 years (SD: 4.03) of study. Most had a family income of 1 to 2 minimum wages (62.9%) and did not have caregivers (90.4%). Regarding the perception of health, 55.1% reported regular health and 24.8% good health. Among the reported comorbidities, Systemic Arterial Hypertension (48.2%), heart disease (17.2%), Diabetes Mellitus (16.1%), Stroke (12.8%), dementia (5.5%) prevailed. ) and cancer (2.2%). About 31.2% had mild depression on the Geriatric Depression scale, 30.2% had mild cognitive loss on the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), and 28.1 had moderate cognitive loss. Both obtained, respectively, an average of 5.50 points (SD: 4.57) and 23.3 points (SD: 4.62). The MMSE showed a moderate negative correlation with knowing how to read and write (Pearson's r -0.501; p <0.001). Regarding the performance in Instrumental Activities of Daily Living according to the Lawton scale, 34% have mild dependence, with an average of 24.9 (SD: 2.84). CONCLUSION: It is observed in the study that the elderly presented moderate to mild cognitive loss, mild depression and mild dependence. These results are similar to those found in other regions of the country.

Palavras Chave

Cognitive decline; Dementia; Epidemiology;