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AimThis study aimed to examine associations between cognitive impairment and quality of life and healthcare utilization in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) stages 3 to 5.MethodsA cross‐sectional study was conducted in 379 outpatients with a mean age of 65.7 years at tertiary care hospitals in Thailand. Cognitive function was measured using the Mini‐Mental State Examination, and quality of life was measured using the five‐dimension European quality of life (EQ‐5D‐5L) multi‐attribute utility instrument. The effects of cognitive impairment on the likelihood of reporting ‘no problems’ for each EQ‐5D dimension, the quality of life scores and healthcare utilization were determined using an appropriate multivariate analysis.ResultsThe prevalence of cognitive impairment in patients with CKD stages 3 to 5 was 15.8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 12.3, 19.9). Patients with cognitive impairment had a significantly lower likelihood of achieving good outcomes in the mobility, self‐care, usual activities and anxiety/depression dimensions of the EQ‐5D‐5L than those with normal cognition. Patients with cognitive impairment had a significantly lower quality of life score than those with normal cognition by 0.06 points (95% CI, 0.01, 0.10). Cognitive impairment increased the number of emergency visits (rate ratio, RR, 3.47; 95% CI, 1.45, 8.29). Compared to CKD stage 3, CKD stage 5 decreased the quality of life score by 0.06 points (95% CI, 0.01, 0.10) and increased the rate of hospitalization (RR, 2.29; 95% CI, 1.27, 4.12).ConclusionCognitive impairment in patients with CKD was associated with lower quality of life scores and increased healthcare utilization.

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