ABSTRACT
Objective:To analyze the correlation between chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and cognitive dysfunction.Methods:This is a case-control study. From February 2022 to October 2022, 32 COPD patients (inpatient and outpatient) from the Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine and Rehabilitation Medical Center of the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University and 32 healthy subjects were recruited. All participants underwent a thorough evaluation, which included Montreal Assessment of Cognitive Function (MoCA), visuospatial n-back task included accuracy (ACC) and mean response time (RT), the pulmonary functions including forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV 1), one-second rate (FEV 1/FVC) and maximum volume per minute (MVV), Health Survey Short Form (SF-36), and St. George′s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ). The correlation between cognitive dysfunction and lung function, SF-36 and SGRQ in COPD patients were analyzed. Results:The prevalence of smoking, hypertension and cardiovascular disease in the two groups were significantly different (all P<0.05). MoCA score, 1-back ACC and 2-back ACC in COPD group were significantly lower than those in healthy control group [(23.86±4.50) vs (27.55±1.29) points, (76.82%±16.60%) vs (90.61%±7.40%), (67.93%±10.10%) vs (78.74%±10.38%), all P<0.001]; 2-back RT was significantly higher than that of healthy group [(316.43±108.17) vs (254.09±101.62) ms, P<0.05]; and the Physiological function (PF), physiological function (RP), emotional function (RE), energy (VT), social function (SF), physical pain (BP) in SF-36 were significantly worse than the healthy control group (all P<0.05). The MoCA score of COPD group was positively correlated with FEV 1/FVC ( r=0.501, P=0.018). The 1-back ACC was positively correlated with FEV 1 and FEV 1/FVC ( r=0.568, 0.634; both P<0.05). The 1-back RT was negatively correlated with FEV 1/FVC and MVV ( r=-0.452, -0.534; both P<0.05). The 2-back ACC was positively correlated with FEV 1/FVC ( r=0.426, P=0.048). The 2-back RT was negatively correlated with MVV ( r=-0.571, P=0.006). In COPD group, MoCA score was negatively correlated with activity, influence and total score in SGRQ ( r=-0.533, -0.466, -0.521; all P<0.05). The 1-back ACC was negatively correlated with activity, influence and total score ( r=-0.552, -0.517, -0.584; all P<0.05). The 1-back RT was positively correlated with activity, influence and total score ( r=0.430, 0.379, 0.417; all P<0.05). The 2-back ACC was negatively correlated with impact and total score ( r=-0.398, -0.412; both P<0.05). Conclusion:COPD patients have impaired cognitive function, which is mainly manifested by the decline of working memory and executive function, and is correlated with the lung function, general health condition and quality of life.