OBJECTIVE: The aim of this research is the verification of cognitive skills in elderly women using benzodiazepines and non-users of this medication. The study consisted of 123 institutionalized elderly women. METHOD: The study was delineated as quantitative and cross-sectional. The instruments used were: sociodemographic data chart, brief international interview of modified neuropsychiatry, mini-exam of the mental state, geriatric depression scale, numbers span, verbal fluency test - category animal, test of selective evocation, free and with leads (Buschke). RESULTS: Age ranged from 60 to 101 years, mean = 79.73 years (SD = 9.56). There was no difference related to age or years spent in institutions (p = 0.846). Minimum period of time was one year and maximum duration was 26 years, mean = 4.02 years (SD = 4.38). The average follow-up time was 5.98 years (SD = 4.17), 80.5% of the individuals could read and 79.7% could write." CONCLUSION: No significant associations were found between the cognitive skills in benzodiazepinic using elderly women and the ones who do not use this medication.
Cognitive skills; benzodiazepinic; elderly women
