Examination of the effect of cognitive skills on mental status in individuals over 65 years of age diagnosed with COVID 19

Abstract The elderly are more susceptible to the adverse effects of pandemic-related measures and are at an elevated risk of contracting the novel coronavirus disease (2019-nCoV), also known as SARS-CoV-2. In this context, they report a higher prevalence of cognitive problems. The objective of this study was to ascertain whether cognitive abilities predict mental status in individuals aged 65 and above. The Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale (MCAS) were administered to a total of 280 participants. As a result of the assessment, 128 participants with moderate severe 152 mental status were included in the study. Participants with mild mental status were excluded from the study. The participants were selected from individuals residing in Istanbul. The data were analysed using the SPSS 26.0 statistical program, and logistic regression analysis was employed to analyze the data. The results indicated that three sub-dimensions of the independent variables made a statistically significant contribution to the model. These independent variables were language, attention and orientation, respectively. The strongest predictor of reporting a mental state was orientation. In this context, the most important factors of mental state were orientation, attention and language problems.