Association between Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Dementia: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Cohort Studies

Abstract

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common disease among the elderly, which has been linked to cognitive decline. However, the relationship between COPD and dementia remains unclear. Summary: We conducted a systematic literature review by searching databases such as Pubmed, Embase, EBSCO, and Cochrane Library (from inception to April 18, 2018) for studies on COPD that also investigated the prevalence of dementia. We found 3 cohort studies including a total of 39,392 COPD patients. Then we applied the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale to evaluate the risk of bias. Key Messages: COPD patients faced a higher risk of dementia (HR 1.46; 95% CI 1.22–1.75; p < 0.001). Subgroup analysis on gender determined that the association between COPD and dementia was stronger in male patients (HR 1.49, 95% CI 1.20–1.86, p < 0.001) than in female patients (HR 1.41, 95% CI 1.27–1.57, p < 0.001). A subset study of patients aged >65 years revealed that the HR was greater for patients aged ≥75 years (HR 1.46, 95% CI 1.07–2.00, p = 0.02) than for those aged 65–74 years (HR 1.40, 95% CI 1.28–1.53, p < 0.001). The cohort studies included were from similar population-based databases, suggesting possible regional limitations and publication bias.

Prevalence of Dementia in China in 2015: A Nationwide Community-Based Study

“…Potential reasons can be further explored in future studies. Consistent with many studies, a higher prevalence of dementia and AD was seen in patients with COPD (29)(30)(31).…”

Towards a Consensus on Alzheimer’s Disease Comorbidity?

“…The major pain (0.17) associated with AD is joint pain (0.15), such as arthritis (0.20) and headaches (0.22), such as migraines (0.12), but not with skin pain (0.00); not with stomach pain (0.00), such as ulcers (0.03); not with mouth pain (0.00), such as caries (0.02); and not with back pain (0.06). Finally, lung diseases, and in particular COPD (0.09) [ 39 ], and asthma (0.09) have been associated with AD [ 39 ].…”

Reduced forced vital capacity is associated with cerebral small vessel disease burden in cognitively normal individuals

“…In terms of the relationship between cognitive function and pulmonary function, previous studies reported a correlation between decreased pulmonary function and impaired cognitive function in COPD patients, and these studies mostly targeted FEV 1 as a predictor (Dodd et al., 2010, Wang et al., 2019). Community-based studies also reported a correlation between pulmonary function and cognitive function (Emery et al., 2012, Richards et al., 2005).…”