Factors associated with cognitive performance in residents of long-term care facilities in Northeast Mexico

Objective: To investigate factors associated with cognitive impairment (CI) in institutionalized Mexican older adults. Material and methods: Cross-sectional study of residents of three long-term care facilities in the metropolitan area of Monterrey, Mexico. A medical history, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Barthel index, geriatric depression scale, and a nutritional screening were performed. CI was defined as MMSE ≤24. Results: Of 280 octogenarian residents (72.1% females) 61.1% had a MMSE ≤24. Older age (OR=1,047), functional dependence (OR=10,309), malnutrition (OR=2,202), urinary incontinence (OR=2,588), and history of fracture (OR=1.764) were directly associated to CI. While higher education level (OR=0.583) and the use of antihypertensives (OR=0.521), antihistamines (OR=0.322), antiprostatic hypertrophy (OR=0.219), and lipid-lowering drugs (OR=0.575) were inversely associated. Conclusions: The high prevalence of CI and its association with other chronic conditions and medications that we find in the population of mexican institutionalized older adults demands the implementation of measures that help in the early identification of all these conditions.