Cognitive impairment
Twenty-eight per cent of our sample showed evidence
of cognitive impairment, which is slightly higher than
Reeves et al. (2002) reported in their sample of elders
with very late onset schizophrenia. Interestingly, the
figure is significantly lower than that in McNulty
and colleagues (2003) Scottish study; although the
latter used a slightly higher cut-off point of 25 they
found 60% of their sample to be impaired. Again
our mean MMSE score was remarkably similar to
the 26.9 found in a London sample (Howard et al.,
1994). It is possible that the higher rate of cognitive
impairment in the Scottish sample is a reflection of
the higher proportion of subjects in institutional care.
Whether our subjects were more likely to be in
the community because of lower levels of cognitive
impairment or had low levels of impairment because
they were not institutionalized is not clear. Scores on
the MMSE might of course be influenced by a variety
factors of which sensory impairment is one.