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P1‐509: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COGNITIVE FUNCTION AND HEALTH‐RELATED QOL AMONG DEPENDENT ELDERLY PEOPLE IN JAPAN
Author(s) -
Morisaki Naoko,
Sullivan James
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1016/j.jalz.2019.06.1114
Subject(s) - cognition , quality of life (healthcare) , mental health , medicine , gerontology , elderly people , psychology , clinical psychology , psychiatry , nursing
Background: The number of elderly people in Japan is increasing year by year. Accordingly, dependent elderly and elderly with cognitive disorders are also increasing. Quality of life (QOL) is the most important thing for the elderly even if cognitive function is declining. This study aimed to examine the relationship between cognitive function and health-related QOL among dependent elderly persons in Japan. Methods: We conducted a questionnaire survey verbally, recording the responses on behalf of the subjects. The subjects of the survey were dependent elderly persons in the southwest corner of Hyogo prefecture, Japan. We obtained data on age, sex, cognitive function, and health-related QOL. Cognitive function was assessed using the mini mental state examination (MMSE) or the mental status questionnaire (MSQ). MMSE of more than 28 points and MSQ of 2 points or less were regarded as indicating no cognitive disorders. Health-related QOL was assessed using SF-8 (Short Form-8). SF-8 is a scale for evaluating health-related QOL used around the world. Physical health summary score (PCS) and mental health summary score (MCS) are calculated from SF-8. Higher scores indicate that the quality of life is high. The national standard value of both scores is 50. The relationship between cognitive disorder and Health-related QOL (SF-8: PCS andMCS) was analyzed by t-test.Results: Two hundred seventeen dependent elderly people (135 women and 82 men with a mean age of 81.56 7.4 years) participated in this study. There were 124 (57.7%) with no cognitive disorders, and 91 (42.3%) with cognitive disorders. The PCS was 44.98 6 7.08, and the MCS was 47.836 7.18. A significant association between cognitive disorder and health-related QOL was observed (p<0.01). PCM was higher for those who no cognitive disorders, and MCS was higher for those who cognitive disorders. Conclusions: These results indicate that the health-related QOL among dependent elderly people is lower than the national standard and that physical QOLmeasured lower than mental. Our results suggested that cognitive function among dependent elderly people is related to health-related QOL.