The Association of the MMSE and Operational Memory Index (WAIS III) in Elderly Persons participating in Information Technology Workshops in the Municipality of Novo Hamburgo - Brazil

Population aging is a worldwide phenomenon and has been increasing exponentially, this increase is due to several factors, but the main ones are the increase in life expectancy and the decrease in the birth rate. The main objective of this work is to analyze the association between the results of the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Operational Memory Index (WAIS-III). The methodological design of the study is quantitative, descriptive and transversal. The sample of this study is non-probabilistic for convenience. We analyzed 22 elderly people, over 60, of both sexes, who regularly attend the computer activities of the Digital Inclusion Board of the Municipality of Novo Hamburgo-Brazil. The analysis was performed using the Spearman correlation test with significance level ≤0.05. The results showed that there is a significant correlation (rho = 0.713/p = 0.000) between the MMSE and its subdivisions (Guidance, Immediate Memory, Attention and Calculus, Evocation and Language) with the Operational Memory Index, (Digits, Arithmetic and Sequence of Numbers and Letters). We can conclude from the data of this sample that the MMS Ecan be used to evaluate the operational memory with precision, mainly in context where a faster application is required.