Cognitive Impairment and Dependence in COPD 

Individuals with COPD frequently experience cognitive (psychological) difficulties, including memory loss among other issues. Cognitive dysfunction in COPD is important for several reasons, including its impact on general health and the potential to cause a patient to not follow the recommended treatment plan.

A recent study published in the Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology examined whether cognitive impairment was associated with a person's dependence on others to complete activities of daily living. The prospective study included 149 patients with COPD and hypoxemia who were participating in a pulmonary rehabilitation program. 

The researchers concluded that traditional indicators of COPD severity (e.g., lung function tests) were not strongly associated with a patient's dependence on others. Cognition was related to a person's dependence only if cognition was fairly normal. A range of factors correlated with dependence for those participants with mild to severe cognitive impairment. 

The authors pointed out that examining other cognitive abilities might have lead to a higher association. In the future it will be important to examine ways to enhance cognition to better understand the relationship between cognition and dependence in COPD.

Antonelli-Incalzi R, Corsonello A, Trojano L, Acanfora D, Spada A, Izzo O, Rengo F.  (2007).  Correlation between cognitive impairment and dependence in hypoxemic COPD.  Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 21:1-10.  

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This information has been approved by Scott Van Da Walker C-FNP, MSN, RN (January 2008).