In the study, researchers compared the mental performance in more than 4150 adults over 50 years with and without COPD who were tested at least twice between 1996 and 2002.COPD is a progressive disease that affects the lungs and makes breathing difficult. The prevalence of the disease increases with age and affects about 14percent of adults over 75 years in the United States and COPD are chronic conditions.
Previous research has already linked with COPD according to cognitive impairment, or reduced mental capacity, but researchers say it is the first study to show the negative impact of COPD on mental performance over time.
A new study shows that severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease () is associated with greater cognitive impairment in older people.
The researchers speculate that people with COPD may experience periods of hypoxia or oxygen below which, in turn, can lead to problems in the brain that affect cognitive performance. COPD-related cognitive impairment
While a single point drop may seem small, Hung said that the level of cognitive impairment associated with COPD in the study would affect many everyday tasks such as managing money e.
Based on previous studies, this level of cognitive decline was probably associated with an increase of 22percent of the average number of difficulties that people with severe COPD would experience in everyday activities.
After adjusting for other factors that may influence cognitive impairment, cognitive scores of people with severe COPD were significantly lower than those without the disease from an average of about a point on a scale of 35 points.
While this number may not seem a major concern at the individual level, the level of the population is roughly equivalent to almost one quarter of patients with severe COPD difficulty with a core competency, Hung says.