Effect of intellectual activity on cognitive function of retired elderly
WEI Xiaoli1,2 WANG Suoliang3▲
1.Department of Medicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Shaanxi Province, Xi'an 710061, China;
2.Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Baoji Central Hospital, Shaanxi Province, Baoji 721008, China;
3.Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi 'an Jiaotong University, Shaanxi Province, Xi'an 710061, China
Abstract:Objective To discuss the effect of intellectual activity on cognitive function of retired elderly. Methods The cross-sectional study and longitudinal follow-up study were undertaken among 188 physical examination cases in Baoji Center Hospital from October 2014 to October 2015. The intellectual activity group (94 cases of retired elderly, 60 years old and above) often took part in any one or more of the following intellectual activities for 5 years and above, including playing chess, go, mahjong, cards, checkers, calligraphy, painting, reading, etc. The frequency of such intellectual activities was more than twice per week and 1-3 hours once. According to gender, age and educational level, another 94 cases of retired elderly were screened out as control group, who never take part in the intellectual activities mentioned above or just attend occasionally. Such patients suffered from cognitive impairment were eliminated. The cognitive function of each case was evaluated by such scales as self-made questionnaire, Hamilton depression scale (HAMD), Mini mental state evaluation (MMSE), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and activities of daily living (ADL). When each case received health check-up one year later, the scales mentioned above were used to evaluate the cognitive function again. The score changes were compared between the two groups mentioned above. Results There were no significant differences between two groups in HAMD scores, MMSE scores, MoCA scores and ADL scores when enrolling (P > 0.05). There was still no significant differences between two groups in HAMD scores, MMSE scores and ADL scores (P > 0.05), while the MoCA scores in the intellectual activity group were significantly higher than that of the controlled group (P < 0.05). The MoCA analysis showed the scores of 3 cases (3.2%) below the critical value of cognitive impairment in the intellectual activity group, reaching the standard of the mild cognitive impairment, significantly less than that in the control group, which was 7 cases (7.4%) (P < 0.05). Conclusion The intellectual activities may be advantageous to the prevention of cognitive decline in retired elderly, and the MoCA scale may be more suitable than others for screening MCI.
魏小利1,2 王锁良3▲. 益智活动对退休后老年人认知功能的影响[J]. 中国医药导报, 2017, 14(18): 177-180.
WEI Xiaoli1,2 WANG Suoliang3▲. Effect of intellectual activity on cognitive function of retired elderly. 中国医药导报, 2017, 14(18): 177-180.