Background:

Aging comprises a set of changes, namely cognitive. There is a very thin line between the expected changes for this stage of life and the pathological changes. About 80% of people with cognitive impairment develop dementia, so it is essential to intervene to delay the onset of this syndrome. The first step for the intervention is the assessment of the cognitive profile of these people.

Aim:

To identify the cognitive features of a group of aged from a region of northern Portugal; and to identify the relationship between sociodemographic variables and cognitive features of a group of elderly people from a northern region of Portugal.

Methods:

Quantitative, cross-sectional and descriptive-correlational study. The sample consisted of institutionalized aged (n = 37) capable of answering a questionnaire composed of sociodemographic questions and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Portuguese version. Data collection took place between November 2017 and February 2018, and all ethical assumptions for human research were met.

Results:

The participants were mostly women (67.6%), with an average age of 82 years, widows and with more than 4 years of schooling. The MOCA score ranged from 6 to 24 points, with a correlation between the overall score and the gender and age variables. All participants presented deficits mostly in language and abstraction.

Conclusions:

The results confirm the higher prevalence of cognitive deficits in the older population, being clear the importance of evaluating and intervening in the cognition of these people, aiming at the maintenance / regression of the deficits and preventing the evolution to dementia. Due to the proximity to this population, nurses, namely specialists in mental health and psychiatry, are privileged agents for intervention in this area, through the implementation of general cognition stimulation programs.

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