Background: Currently, the worldwide population has a life expectancy that surpasses 60

years. The aging process senior citizens are facing increases progressively. Two types of
aging emerge from it: normal and pathological, both can develop with intact cognitive
processes or a loss in the cognitive sphere. To determine this reality, it is necessary to
evaluate with validated neuropsychological tests. One of them is the revised
Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination (ACE-R), which has proved to have a high
sensitivity and specificity that accurately detects the mental state among this population.
However, in this country, the only validated neuropsychological evaluation used in public
health facilities to detect these alterations is the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE).
Therefore, it is important to know the diagnostic accuracy of neuropsychological tests
when detecting cognitive alterations. If they are accurate in their diagnosis, they can
provide specific data about the number of individuals with dementia. Also, estimate the
number of subjects of the same population who are at risk of suffering from this condition
or who are in the early stages of deterioration.

Methodology: A quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional study that analyzes a sample of

X senior citizens in the 60 to 75-year-old range.

In order to determine the number of cognitive alterations in the sample, an evaluation was
applied with the neuropsychological test ACE-R in recreational centers of the Araucanía
region in 2020.

Results: There is a high number of cognitive alterations in senior citizens going through
an active aging process. In addition, the ACE-R test specifies 4 diagnoses: Mild Cognitive
Impairment, Frontotemporal Dementia, Alzheimer, and Normal.

Conclusions: The ACE-R test accurately detects the presence of cognitive alterations in
senior citizens with active aging. The test is successful in evaluating and diagnosing the
cognitive state and establishing an early diagnosis with great accuracy.

Keywords: senior citizens, cognitive impairment, Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-

Revised, cognitive dysfunction, dementia.