Correlation between Mild Cognitive Impairment and Functional Status among Elderly

Abstract
Background: Recently, no standard criteria exist with regard the specific or theoretical definition of minimal functional limitation in people with MCI.
Aim: To Correlate mild cognitive impairment and functional status among elderly.
Methods: A cross sectional study conducted on 225 participants at nursing homes in Egypt. A comprehensive geriatric assessment including medical history and physical examination was carried out for each participant. Cognitive functions were evaluated using both the Arabic translation of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Arabic version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment test (MoCA). Taking in account educational level, where diagnoses of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) if MMSE≤17 for illiterates; MMSE ≤20 for primary school graduates (≥6 years of education), MMSE≤24 for junior school graduates or above (≥9 years of education) and MoCA with Score less than or equal 24 indicates MCI in illiterate, Functional assessment was done by the Activities of Daily Living (ADL) scale, and the Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) scale.
Results: This study indicates that there is no significant difference between those with MCI and those with normal cognitive function in ADL and IADL.
Conclusions: MCI is frequent in older people. Our study suggests that there is no significant difference between those with MCI and those with normal cognitive function in ADL and IADL. Further studies are needed to determine the correlation between MCI and function status.