Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the cognitive characteristics of the elderly with mild cognitive impairment(MCI) and the patterns of cognitive function that change as dementia progresses.
Methods: Cognitive function tests were collected from 238 elderly with no cognitive impairement, 72 elderly with MCI, and 164 elderly with severe cognitive impairment(SCI). The collected data were statistically using analysis of variance, cross-analysis, and Cohen’s d formula.
Results: Subjects with normal and MCI showed significant differences in the stroop simple trial, stroop intervention trial, word fluency, immediate recall, delayed recall, delayed recognition, and MMSE-K1.
There were significant differences between MCI and SCI in the stroop simple trial, digits forward, information, word fluency, picture naming, figure coping, immediate recall, delayed recall, delayed, recognition, MMSE-K1.
Conclusions: It was established that the MCI clearly differ from the normal aging process in the objective indicators of cognitive function. Cognitive dysfunction did not progress at the same time, but some initially showed decline while and some showed the decline later.