The Frequency and Pattern of Cognitive Impairment in the Elderly at the Out Patients Clinic of The Holy Family Hospital, Techiman, Ghana

Abstract

Background: Ghana’s elderly population increased by 367 percent from 1960 to the year 2000. There have been few studies on cognitive impairment amongst elderly patients in Ghana.
Aim: This study was conducted to determine the frequency and pattern of cognitive impairment in the elderly at the outpatients’ clinic of the Holy Family Hospital, Techiman, Ghana.
Methods: The study was a descriptive cross-sectional study. Cognitive impairment was assessed using modified versions of test your memory test, 10 word recall test, trail making test part B and the mini mental state exam. The effect of cognitive impairment on daily
activities was assessed using the activities of daily living scale. Multiple regression analysis was done to determine factors associated with the various cognitive tests chosen.
Results: Forty-nine (49) percent of respondents had cognitive impairment using the Ten (10) word list recall whereas 72% of the respondents had cognitive impairment on the modified Test your memory test. On the Mini mental state exam, 76% of respondents had cognitive impairment. Six percent of respondents had cognitive impairment on the Trail making test B. The cognitive domains most affected were visuospatial skills, semantic knowledge, arithmetic and attention. The least affected cognitive domains were verbal
fluency, ability to copy, calculation, verbal recall and orientation. A higher educational level was associated with higher scores on all the cognitive tests chosen (p< 0.003).
Conclusion: It can be concluded that the frequency of cognitive impairment amongst elderly patients in Techiman is high with visuospatial skills, semantic knowledge, arithmetic and attention being the most affected cognitive domains.