Determinants of cognitive performance among community dwelling older adults in an impoverished sub-district of São Paulo in Brazil.
Determinants of cognitive performance in old age have received limited attention in Latin America. We investigated the association of socio-demographic and health-related variables with cognitive performance in a sample of older adults with limited educational experience living in a poor sub-district of the city of São Paulo. This was a cross-sectional population-based study which included a sample of 384 seniors 65 years and older. Cognition was assessed by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Brief Cognitive Screening Battery (BCSB) (episodic memory test with 10 pictures, verbal fluency (VF), Clock Drawing Test (CDT)). Results indicated that age, sex, schooling, depressive symptoms, and systolic blood pressure (SBP) level had a significant impact on the cognitive performance of the sample. Therefore, pharmacological and psychosocial interventions with a focus on improving mood and controlling hypertension may have beneficial effects on cognition among seniors with similar socio-demographic characteristics.
Faculty of Medical Sciences, State University of Campinas, Brazil.
Letícia Maria
LM
Soares
Meire
M
Cachioni
Deusivania Vieira da Silva
DV
Falcão
Samila Satler Tavares
SS
Batistoni
Andrea
A
Lopes
Anita Liberalesso
AL
Neri
Mônica Sanches
MS
Yassuda
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001794:Blood Pressure; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D003071:Cognition; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011204:Poverty Areas; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors