Subclinical encephalopathy in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
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.
Lima
Olga Maria Pinto de
OM
Escola de Medicina e Cirurgia, Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. ompl@oi.com.br
Oliveira-Souza
Ricardo de
Rd
Santos
Omar da Rosa
Oda R
Moraes
Pedro Araújo de
PA
Sá
Leonardo Fontenelle de
LF
Nascimento
Osvaldo J M
OJ
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