Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, College of Medicine, Yeungnam University.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this investigation was to study the correlation between cognitive impairment and activities of daily living(ADL) in the elderly of rural area. METHODS: The study population consisted of 210 elderly people aged 65 years and older, living in a district of Kyongju City. The cognitive impairment was measured with the Korean version of mini-mental state examination(MMSE-K) and newly constructed the Korean version of mini-mental state examination (K-MMSE). Bristol activities of daily living scale developed specifically to be used with people with dementia was used to measure ADL. RESULTS: The mean scores of both MMSE-K and K-MMSE were significantly different by sex groups and by age groups, respectively(p<0.05). The mean scores of ADL were significantly different by age groups(p<0.01) not by sex groups. Among the 4 components of ADL(instrumental activities of daily living(IADL), self care, orientation, and mobility), the mean score of the orientation was significantly higher in men(p<0.01); and IADL, orientation and mobility components were significantly different by age groups(p<0.01). ADL correlated well with MMSE-K (r=0.54) and K-MMSE(r=0.52) and showed higher correlation in female (r=0.73, 0.71) than male(r=0.27, 0.29). IADL and orientation showed significant correlation with MMSE-K(r=0.52, 0.62) and K-MMSE(r=0.50, 0.63), respectively(p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: In developing and establishing a care model for people with dementia in the community, both cognitive impairment and the activities of daily living(ADL) need to be considered.
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