title: Subclinical encephalopathy in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Clinical and experimental evidence suggests that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with a variety of mental symptoms that range from cognitive slowing to mental confusion and dementia.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To test the hypothesis that COPD leads to cognitive impairment in the absence of acute confusion or dementia.
  
  
  METHODS
  The global cognitive status of 30 patients with COPD without dementia or acute confusion and 34 controls was assessed with a Brazilian version of the Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The MMSE scores were significantly lower in the patient group and inversely related to the severity of COPD. This finding could not be attributed to age, education, gender, daytime sleepiness, hypoxemia, chronic tobacco use, or associated diseases such as diabetes, depression, high blood pressure or alcoholism.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest the existence of a subclinical encephalopathy of COPD characterized by a subtle impairment of global cognitive ability.
authors.affiliation: Escola de Medicina e Cirurgia, Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. ompl@oi.com.br
authors.forename: Olga Maria Pinto de
authors.initials: OM
authors.lastname: Lima
authors.forename: Ricardo de
authors.initials: Rd
authors.lastname: Oliveira-Souza
authors.forename: Omar da Rosa
authors.initials: Oda R
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: Pedro Araújo de
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Moraes
authors.forename: Leonardo Fontenelle de
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Sá
authors.forename: Osvaldo J M
authors.initials: OJ
authors.lastname: Nascimento
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008609:Mental Status Schedule; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000150:complications*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index