Screening for cognitive impairment in Arabic-speaking Hajj pilgrims

Background Although cognitive impairment is common in the elderly population, studies investigating its rate in Hajj pilgrims are lacking. Objectives To estimate the rate of cognitive impairment among a sample of Arabic-speaking elderly Hajj pilgrims and examine its association with their activities of daily living (ADL). Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted during the Hajj season 1438 Hijri Calendar (August 2017). Hajj pilgrims were recruited using a probability sampling method and were interviewed for demographics, the MINI-Cog and the ADL instrument. Results Among the 340 recruited pilgrims, 99 (29.2%) had positive results in the MINI-Cog indicating probable cognitive impairment. In multivariate logistic regression, the educational level (odds ratio (OD) 0.456; 95% CI 0.346 to 0.598) and the need for help during Hajj (OD 0.581; 95% CI 0.342 to 0.984) were found significantly associated with positive MINI-Cog. Although no significant differences in the ADL were found between pilgrims with and without positive MINI-Cog, the scores of the ADL and the MINI-Cog were found to be positively correlated but weak ( r s = 0.134, P = 0.013) indicating a possible association between better cognitive functions and better ADL performance. Conclusion Probable cognitive impairment among Arabic elderly Hajj pilgrims was found to be very common. Further diagnostic studies and studies on the impact of cognitive impairment on the performance of Hajj pilgrims are warranted.