Domain-specific cognitive impairment in patients with COPD and control subjects

Abstract

Impaired cognitive function is increasingly recognized in COPD. Yet, the prevalence of cognitive impairment in specific cognitive domains in COPD has been poorly studied. The aim of this cross-sectional observational study was to compare the prevalence of domain-specific cognitive impairment between patients with COPD and non-COPD controls. A neuropsychological assessment was administered in 90 stable COPD patients and 90 non-COPD controls with comparable smoking status, age, and level of education. Six core tests from the Maastricht Aging Study were used to assess general cognitive impairment. By using Z-scores, compound scores were constructed for the following domains: psychomotor speed, planning, working memory, verbal memory, and cognitive flexibility. General cognitive impairment and domain-specific cognitive impairment were compared between COPD patients and controls after correction for comorbidities using multivariate linear and logistic regression models. General cognitive impairment was found in 56.7% of patients with COPD and in 13.3% of controls. Deficits in the following domains were more often present in patients with COPD after correction for comorbidities: psychomotor speed (17.8% vs 3.3%; P<0.001), planning (17.8% vs 1.1%; P<0.001), and cognitive flexibility (43.3% vs 12.2%; P<0.001). General cognitive impairment and impairments in the domains psychomotor speed, planning, and cognitive flexibility affect the COPD patients more than their matched controls.

Altered amplitude of low‐frequency fluctuation in basal ganglia correlates to pulmonary ventilation function in COPD patients: A resting‐state fMRI study

“…The COPD patients mainly exhibited declines in the executive function, while the function of long‐term memory (Delayed CFT and AVLT) is comparable between the two groups. This result is largely coincided with the finds of Dodd et al and Cleutjens et al (Cleutjens, Franssen, et al, ; Dodd et al, ). The affected domains indicate that the COPD mainly associated with na‐MCI rather than a‐MCI, which is also supported by the results of previous studies (Singh et al, ; Villeneuve et al, ).…”

“…Different pathways in COPD pathogenesis may affect different brain regions associated with different brain functions and may lead to a pattern of cognitive dysfunction specific to COPD. There have been some studies concerning the subtypes of MCI (mild cognitive impairment) or specific affected cognitive domains in the COPD patients (Cleutjens, Franssen, et al, ; Singh et al, , ; Villeneuve et al, ). Most of these studies indicate that COPD patients with an increased risk of na‐MCI (non‐amnestic MCI), while an increased risk of a‐MCI (amnestic MCI) has also been reported.…”

The Relationship between Cerebral Small Vessel Disease, Hippocampal Volume and Cognitive Functioning in Patients with COPD: An MRI Study

“…Details of the methodology of this study and data concerning cognition have been described before (Cleutjens et al, 2014b, 2017). …”

“…These biological changes may have adverse effects on the brain leading to cognitive impairment. General cognitive impairment is four times more likely to occur in patients with COPD than in non-COPD controls and involves several cognitive domains, such as psychomotor speed, planning, memory and cognitive flexibility (Cleutjens et al, 2017). Impairments in working and verbal memory have been found in one out of three patients with COPD (Cleutjens et al, 2017).…”

“…General cognitive impairment is four times more likely to occur in patients with COPD than in non-COPD controls and involves several cognitive domains, such as psychomotor speed, planning, memory and cognitive flexibility (Cleutjens et al, 2017). Impairments in working and verbal memory have been found in one out of three patients with COPD (Cleutjens et al, 2017). Although the pathogenesis of cognitive impairment in COPD has been searched in oxidative stress, hypoxemia, systemic inflammation and comorbidities, the exact pathways remain unknown (Dodd et al, 2010; Cleutjens et al, 2014a; Lahousse et al, 2015).…”