ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to observethe longitudinal change of cognitive function of elderly people.Over 180 community-dwelling elderly people were tested withMMSE at baseline and followed up five years later. About42.9% of 1,225 people who had cognitive impairment at baselinesurvey were found to be dead in follow-up survey, and the deathrate was much higher than that of cognitive intact person, whichwas 19.45%. Among 1,335 cases who finished MMSE test twicethe mean score of MMSE at follow-up was 23.35, which waslower than original mean score (23.77). The rate of peopleidentified as abnormal by education adjusted cutoff point alsoincreased from 8.24% to 17.8%. Viewed individually 51.9% ofthem remained stable in MMSE score, 24.5% decreased and23.6% increased after five years. Old people aged 70 or above,less educated, and people who scored around or lower than cutoffpoint were more likely to decline. Conclusion: The performance ofMMSE has certain predictive value to the outcome of elderlypeople, and cognitive decline in community lived people is quiteslow.