Investigating The Prevalence of Cognitive and Functional Impairment Which May Be Associated With Dementia In Hospitalized Elderly

Aim: The aim of the present study is to determine the prevalence of cognitive and functional impairment which may be associated with dementia in hospitalized elderly. Methods: This survey was made as a descriptive study and conducted in 15 different inpatient clinics in a University hospital setting. The sample consisted a total of 273 patients who were available for the inclusion to the study. The data were collected by using the Sociodemographic Properties Questionnaire, Geriatric Depression Scale Short Form (GDS-SF 15), Delirium Graduated Scale (DGS), Functional Activities Questionnaire (FAQ), The Standardized Mini-Mental State Examination for educated and uneducated elderly individuals (D- SMMT). Results: The cognitive and functional decline which may be associated with dementia was designated on 91 of the 273 (33.3 %) hospitalized people. The risk of cognitive and functional decline is found to be significantly more with increasing age (p<0,01), female gender (p<0,05), having an income equivalent to expenses or less than costs (p<0,01), self-reporting forgetfulness (p<0,05) or lower education (p<0,01). Marital status (p>0,05) showed no significant relationship with the cognitive and functional decline. Conclusion: This survey results indicated that the rate of cognitive and functional impairment which may be associated with dementia in hospitalized people over 65 years of age is as high as one in every three patients, at a similar rate reported in the earlier literature. These results also showed that importance of nurses should take into consideration this ratio when planning their care and appropriate approach for this patients.