Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Canadian Family Physician logoLink to Canadian Family Physician
. 1993 Apr;39:772–777.

Cognitive function. Survey of elderly persons living at home in rural Newfoundland.

G Worrall 1, N Moulton 1
PMCID: PMC2379817  PMID: 8495135

Abstract

We tested the cognitive function of elderly, community-dwelling residents in rural Newfoundland using the Canadian Mental Status Questionnaire. The prevalence of moderate and severe cognitive impairment was 9.3%. Physicians in the community had recognized those with severe impairment, but had not recognized any of those with moderate impairment. Cognitive function testing should be part of the periodic health examination of older patients.

Full text

PDF
772

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Beck J. C., Benson D. F., Scheibel A. B., Spar J. E., Rubenstein L. Z. Dementia in the elderly: the silent epidemic. Ann Intern Med. 1982 Aug;97(2):231–241. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-97-2-231. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bland R. C., Newman S. C., Orn H. Prevalence of psychiatric disorders in the elderly in Edmonton. Acta Psychiatr Scand Suppl. 1988;338:57–63. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.1988.tb08548.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Brayne C., Calloway P. An epidemiological study of dementia in a rural population of elderly women. Br J Psychiatry. 1989 Aug;155:214–219. doi: 10.1192/bjp.155.2.214. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Evans D. A., Funkenstein H. H., Albert M. S., Scherr P. A., Cook N. R., Chown M. J., Hebert L. E., Hennekens C. H., Taylor J. O. Prevalence of Alzheimer's disease in a community population of older persons. Higher than previously reported. JAMA. 1989 Nov 10;262(18):2551–2556. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Jorm A. F., Korten A. E., Henderson A. S. The prevalence of dementia: a quantitative integration of the literature. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 1987 Nov;76(5):465–479. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.1987.tb02906.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. KAY D. W., BEAMISH P., ROTH M. OLD AGE MENTAL DISORDERS IN NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE. I. A STUDY OF PREVALENCE. Br J Psychiatry. 1964 Mar;110:146–158. doi: 10.1192/bjp.110.465.146. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Kay D. W., Henderson A. S., Scott R., Wilson J., Rickwood D., Grayson D. A. Dementia and depression among the elderly living in the Hobart community: the effect of the diagnostic criteria on the prevalence rates. Psychol Med. 1985 Nov;15(4):771–788. doi: 10.1017/s0033291700005006. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Morgan K., Dallosso H. M., Arie T., Byrne E. J., Jones R., Waite J. Mental health and psychological well-being among the old and the very old living at home. Br J Psychiatry. 1987 Jun;150:801–807. doi: 10.1192/bjp.150.6.801. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Nilsson L. V., Persson G. Prevalence of mental disorders in an urban sample examined at 70, 75 and 79 years of age. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 1984 Jun;69(6):519–527. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.1984.tb02526.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Pfeiffer E. A short portable mental status questionnaire for the assessment of organic brain deficit in elderly patients. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1975 Oct;23(10):433–441. doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.1975.tb00927.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Robertson D., Rockwood K., Stolee P. The prevalence of cognitive impairment in an elderly Canadian population. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 1989 Oct;80(4):303–309. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.1989.tb02984.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Roos N. P., Shapiro E. The Manitoba longitudinal study on aging: preliminary findings on health care utilization by the elderly. Med Care. 1981 Jun;19(6):644–657. doi: 10.1097/00005650-198106000-00007. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Rubenstein L. V., Calkins D. R., Greenfield S., Jette A. M., Meenan R. F., Nevins M. A., Rubenstein L. Z., Wasson J. H., Williams M. E. Health status assessment for elderly patients. Report of the Society of General Internal Medicine Task Force on Health Assessment. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1989 Jun;37(6):562–569. doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.1989.tb05690.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Sulkava R., Wikström J., Aromaa A., Raitasalo R., Lehtinen V., Lahtela K., Palo J. Prevalence of severe dementia in Finland. Neurology. 1985 Jul;35(7):1025–1029. doi: 10.1212/wnl.35.7.1025. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Weissman M. M., Myers J. K., Tischler G. L., Holzer C. E., 3rd, Leaf P. J., Orvaschel H., Brody J. A. Psychiatric disorders (DSM-III) and cognitive impairment among the elderly in a U.S. urban community. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 1985 Apr;71(4):366–379. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.1985.tb02536.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Worrall G., Chambers L. W. Can we afford not to evaluate services for elderly persons with dementia? Can Fam Physician. 1989 Mar;35:573–580. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Canadian Family Physician are provided here courtesy of College of Family Physicians of Canada

RESOURCES