Objective: To compare functional performance among institutionalized elderly people with cognitive impairment, by means of applying the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), a mobility test and the Katz Index. Method: Twenty-eight subjects participated in this study (82 ± 9.06 years). Mobility was assessed using the "Timed Up and Go" (TUG) test, and daily living activities (DLA) via the Katz Index. Results: There was no statistically significant correlation between mobility assessed by TUG and performance in the MMSE (Pearson's r = 0.234; p = 0.232). A positive association was detected between the elderly people's performance in the TUG test and their achievement in bathing, dressing and transferal tasks measured by the Katz Index (p = 0.039; p = 0.000; p = 0.001, respectively; ANOVA). There was no significant association between cognitive impairment detected by MMSE and the elderly people's performance in the five activities of the Katz Index (bathing: p= 0.774; dressing: p = 0.567; hygiene: p = 0.857; transferal: p = 0.824; continence: p= 0.947; ANOVA). Increasing age did not demonstrate any significant correlation with performance in any of the tests (TUG: p = 0.466, r = 0.144; MMSE: p = 0.841, Pearson's r = 0.040). Conclusion: The cognitive impairment of these elderly people, detected via the MMSE, did not have any association with their performance in the mobility and DLA tests. However, there was a significant association between their performance in the mobility test and their achievement in bathing, dressing and transferal activities.
elderly people; cognitive impairment; mobility; daily living activities
