Oral language comprehension assessment among elderly: a population based study in Brazil.

摘要

BACKGROUND: Determinants of oral language comprehension, a complex skill, are not clearly established, but may include age, schooling, health condition, depression and quality of life. OBJECTIVE: To assess oral comprehension skill among Brazilian elderly and identify factors explaining elderly variability in the Token test performance. METHODS: A population-based random sample of 373 elderly (> or = 60 years) in Belo Horizonte, 2007, answered standardized questionnaire including socio-demographic and health-related questions and performed the Token Test short version (SVTT), Snellen Test, Mini Mental State Examination, General Health Questionnaire, and Health Survey Short Form (SF12). RESULTS: Token Test scores ranged from 8 to 35 points; 50% of participants scored < or = 24 points with no sex variation. Age, schooling, literacy, cognitive status, hypertension, self-rated conversational understanding and SF12 mental component explained 62% of SVTT variability. CONCLUSIONS: Language comprehension disorder was quite common and test performance was highly influenced by education and cognitive status. Association between test performance and self-rated conversational comprehension indicated that elderly were aware of their difficulty.