Cognitive impairment in psychiatric patients in the United Arab Emirates

Cognitive impairment is central to the discussion of most psychiatric disorders, because of the implications it has for diagnostic, therapeutic, and rehabilitative progression. In the present study, we compared the levels of cognitive impairment between psychiatric patients and a healthy control group. Thirty psychiatric patients and 30 matching healthy controls participated in this study. Their ages ranged from 17 to 55 years (M_age = 29.17; SD = 8.87). The Brief Neuropsychological Cognitive Examination (BNCE) was used to measure cognitive impairment in both groups. A t-test revealed significant differences between the two groups for all Part I subtests (except comprehension), all Part II subtests, and the BNCE total score, with the patients showing greater cognitive impairment. A Kruskal-Wallis H-test also revealed significant differences in the orientation, comprehension, constructive praxis, shifting sets, attention, Part I total, Part II total, and BNCE total scores within the psychiatric patients: patients with schizophrenia consistently displayed significantly greater cognitive impairment compared to patients with mood, anxiety, and substance use disorders. Results need to be investigated further to clarify the nature of the relationship between mood disorders and orientation. Psychiatric patients may exhibit similar types of cognitive impairments but with different severity.