지역사회 60세 이상 기초수급자 인지 기능 전수조사 결과 분석

Abstract

Background: To identify cognitive impairments in an early phase, a cognitive screening test is important. However, it has been poorly discussed about the process which the screening test is performed. Methods: We enrolled the residents aged 60 and older living in Seondong-gu, Seoul and classified the subjects into 3 groups (Group I, Group II, Group III) according to the economic status and the way that the subjects were recruited. Group I was recruited by our new program which is a door-to-door program targeting to the recipients of public care system. Group II and Group III were recruited by a routine screening program being conducted in the center, each of which was enrolled in a small sized public activities and a large-scale public lecture, respectively. All subjects had the Mini-Mental State Examination, we evaluated the status of cognitive impairment based on its score. Results: A total of 4,646 subjects were enrolled, of which 1,297 were the recipients of public care system. The recipients of public care system (Group I) showed a higher prevalence of the patients with cognitive impairment than those of other groups. Conclusions: These results suggest that our new program targeting to the recipients of public care system is more effective for detecting the patients with cognitive impairment from the people in absolute poverty. Therefore, we should consider about how we set the study design to detect the subjects with cognitive impairments depending on the situation of local community.