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Updated: May 9, 2026

Evaluation of the Cognitive Performance of Hypertensive Patients with Silent Cerebrovascular Lesions
Published on: April 23, 2021
Chronic diseases, cognition, functional decline, and the Charlson index in elderly people with dementia
Fausto Aloísio Pedrosa Pimenta1, Maria Aparecida Camargos Bicalho, Marco Aurélio Romano-Silva
1Medical School, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto (UFOP), Ouro Preto, MG, Brazil. fpimenta@medicina.ufop.br
Objective:
To assess the association between chronic degenerative diseases and functional decline, cognition, and mortality prediction.
Methods:
A cross-sectional study was conducted in a geriatrics service in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, involving 424 patients subdivided into two groups: control and dementia. The study analyzed socio-demographic and environmental data, chronic degenerative diseases, the Charlson index, and data on functional and cognitive dementia.
Results:
After a univariate analysis, there was a greater frequency of cerebrovascular accident (CVA), urinary incontinence, constipation, and sleep disorder in the dementia group, while the multivariate analysis showed a greater number of environmental factors and sleep disorder. Regarding the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), CVA, and heart failure presented lower scores. There was a greater score in the dementia group with regarding the Charlson index.
Conclusion:
These comorbidities were associated with the functional decline in elderly people with dementia.
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