Abstract: Objective To investigate the status of cognitive impairment and its associated factors among the elderly in community in Beijing. Methods 2055 elderly people aged 60 or more from communities in Beijing were investigated and assessed with Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Results 1985 from 2055 met the requirements of the questionnaire. Univariate analysis showed that age (F=37.068,P<0.001), gender (β=-0.187), educational level (F=21.875, P<0.001), marriage (β=0.328), social communication (β=0.124), and frequency of physical exercise (F=21.58, P=0.01, β=0.126) were related to the scores of MMSE (P<0.001). While multivariate analysis showed that educational level (β=0.421), age (β= -0.226), gender (β=-0.226), and frequency of physical exercise (β=0.128) were possibly the influential factors for the scores of MMSE (P<0.001). Conclusion Age, educational level, and frequency of physical exercise are important factors affecting cognitive functions of the elderly, in which age is negative, and the others are positive.

Key words: the elderly, cognition, education, risk factors