Cognitive dysfunction in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Background Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an increasingly common disease among older adults that has been linked to other comorbid conditions with serious morbidity and mortality, including cognition impairment. However, it remains poorly understood in COPD. The aim of the study The aim of this study is to evaluate cognitive dysfunction in COPD and to relate it to the severity obtained from spirometric and gasometric evaluation of COPD patients. Patients and methods In this case–control study design, 25 COPD patients and 25 age‑matched and sex‑matched healthy control patients were compared. Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale‑III (WAIS‑III) and Mini‑Mental State Examination (MMSE) were used to evaluate cognition in COPD patients. Results There was significant impairment of MMSE with a cognitive dysfunction reported in 72% of the COPD group. There was significant impairment in all components of WAIS‑III, namely the verbal IQ, performance IQ, total scale IQ, and deterioration index in the COPD group than in the control group.WAIS‑III scale was positively correlated to both oxygen tension and saturation, denoting the utmost role of hypoxemia in the pathogenesis of cognitive dysfunction in COPD patients. Receiver operator characteristics curves were plotted for the use of both oxygen tension and saturation, denoting good use of oxygen tension and saturation as a predictive value for impairment of MMSE and WAIS‑III scale and hence cognitive dysfunction. Conclusion Cognitive dysfunction is a fixed finding that occurs in the course of COPD. Hypoxemia seems to play the principal role in cognitive disorders. Spirometric parameters seem to be closely related to the progression and prediction of the course of those disorders.