Abstract
BackgroundOver 290,000 patients are undergoing hemodialysis (HD) in Japan. With old age, the odds of undergoing HD treatment sharply increase, as does the prevalence of cognitive impairment. The aim of the present work was to assess cognitive impairment in HD patients and its relation to clinical characteristics.MethodsUsing a cross-sectional design, we administered the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) to 154 HD outpatients and 852 participants from the Iwaki Health Promotion Project 2010, representing the general population.ResultsThe prevalence of cognitive impairment based on the MMSE was 18.8% in HD patients. HD patients showed a higher prevalence of cognitive impairment in older groups (50 years and older). In a logistic regression model with age, gender and amount of education as covariates, undergoing HD was a significant independent factor (OR = 2.28, 95% CI 1.33 to 3.94) associated with a lower MMSE score. Among HD patients, we found that level of education was associated with MMSE score.ConclusionsThere is a high prevalence of cognitive impairment among HD patients that has adverse implications for hospitalization and shortens their life expectancy. HD treatment was an independent risk factor for cognitive impairment. Clinicians should carefully monitor and treat cognitive impairment in HD patients. Further studies are required to determine the reasons for cognitive impairment in HD patients.
Highlights
Advances in medical technology and improvements in public health have brought about a progressive increase in the population undergoing hemodialysis (HD)
Clinical and demographic characteristics of the subjects The prevalence of cognitive impairment based on the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score was 18.8% among HD patients and 6.0% among control
Risk factors associated with having lower MMSE scores (
Summary
Advances in medical technology and improvements in public health have brought about a progressive increase in the population undergoing hemodialysis (HD). The prevalence of HD treatment sharply increases in old age, as does the prevalence of cognitive impairment. The relationship between HD and cognitive impairment has attracted attention [2,3,4,5], and its causes have been discussed. The high prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors might overshadow the roles of aging and non-vascular factors in the development of cognitive impairment [14,15,16]. Over 290,000 patients are undergoing hemodialysis (HD) in Japan. The odds of undergoing HD treatment sharply increase, as does the prevalence of cognitive impairment. The aim of the present work was to assess cognitive impairment in HD patients and its relation to clinical characteristics
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