Introduction. Whe aging population is a big social problem. Aim. The aim of presented study was to compare the degree of cognitive disorders classified as dementia among 21 elderly people living in the Social Welfare Home. Materials and methods. The investigated group included both elderly with diagnosed alcohol problems (N = 8) and those who do not abuse alcohol (N = 13). Widely applied standard test: Mini Mental State Examination (MMSe) was used as a research tool. Results. It has been shown that eldery people abusing alcohol received average score of 25.25 points, while those, who do not abuse alcohol 26.39 points. Conclusions. Although the difference between both groups can be observed, it is not statistically significant. This result indicates the complexity of the problem that are changes in cognitive functioning caused by excessive alcohol consumption. These changes are also strongly influenced by other factors namely the period of alcohol consumption (weeks, months, years), the time when the problem was diagnosed and consequently the duration of treatment.

Key words: cognitive disorders, alcohol, elderly people.