Affiliations: Department of Chest Disease, Mersin University School
of Medicine, Mersin, Turkey | Department of Neurology, Mersin University School of
Medicine, Mersin, Turkey
Note: [] Corresponding author: Dr. Cengiz Özge, Fatih mah. Istanbul
Evleri C Blok 3/5 33170, Mezitli, Mersin, Turkey. Tel.: +90 324 359 89 04; Fax:
+90 324 359 43 36; E-mail: cengizozge@mersin.edu.tr or cengizozge@yahoo.com
Abstract: The objective of this study was to examine the association among the
duration of COPD, degree of hypoxemia, and neurological abnormalities including
cognitive functioning. Fifty-four patients with severe COPD and 24 age- and
sex-matched controls, were included in the study. All patients and controls
were administered pulmonary function tests, standardized Mini-mental State
Examination (MMSE), Blessed Dementia Scale (BDS), Physical Self-maintenance
Scale (PSMS), Modified Activities of Daily Living scale (MADL), Instrumental
Activities of Daily Living scale (IADL), Cornell Scale for Depression in
Dementia (CSDD), Global Deterioration Scale (GDS) and Clinical Dementia Rating
(CDR). In addition, detailed physical and neurological examinations were
performed. Sixty-four percent of patients with COPD showed abnormalities in
MMSE, predominantly in recent memory, construction, attention, language, and
orientation domains. Functional abnormalities were correlated with cognitive
abnormalities. Although COPD patients did not show significant depression
compared to controls, 77.7%. of the patients showed subjective and objective
cognitive disturbance and 72.2% of the patients were classified as questionable
or mild dementia. In conclusion, patients with COPD show significant cognitive
and functional impairments that cannot be explained just by coincidence or by
depression.
