Objective: To evaluate the cognitive performance of institutionalized elderly in the city of Natal, state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Methods: A descriptive, longitudinal study of 85 aged individuals via an interview conducted following the application of a classification form and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), with different cutoff points according to the level of education. The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Universidad Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (164/2011). Results: The mean age of the elderly studied was 76.8 years, 48.3% were single and 62.0% women, with an average of 3.27 children and 3 years of schooling; cognitive losses were recorded over a 6-month period following the 1st assessment, declining from 18.8 to 16.9% at the 2nd assessment for the following items: orientation to space (p = 0.02), language (p = 0.02) and repetition (p = 0.01). Conclusion: The results show significant cognitive changes among elderly subjects, with 64.6% exhibiting cognitive impairment. The findings suggest systematic evaluations in elders as a mean to establish prevention measures for health losses, taking into account that the referred deficits are capable of causing damage in the everyday life of these elderly residents of institutions.

Keywords:
Aging, Cognition, Monitoring, Homes for the aged
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