W. Padoani et al., COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE AND QUALITY-OF-LIFE IN A SAMPLE OF 220 NONDEMENTED ELDERLY PEOPLE, Archives of gerontology and geriatrics, 1998, pp. 373-380
The aim of the study was to analyze the influence of cognitive perform
ance, assessed objectively through administration of the mini mental s
tate examination (MMSE), on the subjective perception of quality of li
fe, in a sample of nondemented elderly people, interviewed at the cons
ulting rooms of general practitioners. A questionnaire on the quality
of life directly designed for the elderly (LEIPAD) was administered to
220 subjects aged 65 years and over. In the sample, 100 men and 120 w
omen were included. The women produced lower (worse) mean scores than
their male counterparts for all the variables considered. Concerning m
arital status, the most unsatisfied groups in terms of sexual interest
and life satisfaction appeared to be people living alone (bachelors/s
pinsters and the widowed). The mean MMSE score was 26.91 +/- 2.15 (ran
ge 24-30) for the total sample, 26.82 +/- 2.17 (range 24-30) for the f
emales and 27.03 +/- 2.12 (range 24-30) for the males. Analysis of the
covariance between the mean global score and subscale scores and age,
educational level and MMSE scores, was conducted for the total sample
, the subsamples of males and females and of subjects with and without
a somatic pathology. High MMSE scores are linked to a lower tendency
to refer anxious-depressive and cognitive disorder symptoms and a bett
er perception of quality of life in general, suggesting that cognitive
ly unimpaired elderly people have superior adaptive skills, especially
the males. The presence of a clinically significant somatic pathology
appears to bring about a change in the relationship between cognitive
status and self-perception of quality of life. In this case, the very
awareness of the somatic problem is what appears to most objectively
influence the various subscales, thereby reducing the role of cognitiv
e performance in favor of educational level.