Artefactum · Oct 16, 2026
Prevalence of cognitive impairment screened for using the Clock Drawing Test in community-dwelling older adults
By Tachini AP, Longen EG, Battiti F et al.
Population aging increases the relevance of early cognitive screening in the community. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of cognitive impairment screened for using the Clock Drawing Test (TDR) in community-dwelling older adults and to analyze its relationship with sex, age group, and physical activity level. This was a cross-sectional, descriptive study with a convenience sample of older adults (≥60 years) participating in social groups. The TDR was scored from 0 to 10 and classified as normal performance (9-10 points), suspected impairment (6-8 points), or cognitive impairment (≤5 points). Self-reported physical activity was categorized as less than 150 minutes per week, 150 minutes per week or more, and sedentary behavior. The Mann-Whitney test, Kruskal-Wallis test with Dunn's post hoc test, Fisher-Freeman-Halton exact test, and logistic regression adjusted for age and sex were used (α=5%). Among the 184 participants (85.9% women; median age of 74 years), 72.3% had normal performance, 15.2% suspected impairment, and 12.5% cognitive impairment, totaling 27.7% with abnormal screening results. There was no difference between sexes (p=0.500). Performance differed between age groups (p=0.026), being worse among those aged 70 to 79 years compared with those aged 60 to 69 years (p=0.023). Physical activity was not associated with cognitive performance in the unadjusted (p=0.662) and adjusted analyses, although sedentary participants were older (p=0.006). Approximately one in four community-dwelling older adults had abnormal cognitive screening results, which reinforces the utility of the TDR as a rapid, low-cost screening tool in the community, coupled with referral for further assessment.