알코올 의존 환자에서 K-MMSE를 이용한 인지 기능 연구

A Study of Cognitive Functioning Measured by the K-MMSE in Patients with Alcohol Dependence

Objectives：This study aimed to characterize the cognitive functions of chronic alcohol dependent patients in their forties as compared to normal controls, via the K-MMSE (Korean version of the Mini-Mental State Examination). Methods：Participants were 25 male volunteers from the curative program at the Keyo hospital alcohol center, recruited from June 2007 to November 2007, and 25 male social drinkers who constituted the normal controls. We compared demographic characteristics, such as age, level of education, occupation, and socioeconomic status, and also K-MMSE results between the two groups. Results：Even though the demographic characteristics showed statistically significant differences between the two groups, their K-MMSE scores were not significantly different. Also, there was no identifiable correlation between demographic variables and K-MMSE total scores and subscales. The alcohol dependent patients varied significantly from the control group with regard to visuospatial area. Conclusion：In this study the cognitive functions and demographical variables such as education, occupation and socioeconomic status were not correlated. The subjects in two groups scored similar on K-MMSE in total score ; they had different scores in the test on their visuospatial area. In conclusion, some specific items of K-MMSE are thought to be applicable to predict whether patients with alcoholic dependence will have disability in their cognitive function.