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A prospective study of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and the risk for mild cognitive impairment
Singh B, Mielke MM, Parsaik AK, Cha RH, Roberts RO, Scanlon PD, Geda YE, Christianson TJ et al.. JAMA neurology, 2014-05-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Importance Previous studies suggest cross-sectional associations between a diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). However, few studies have assessed whether COPD, a potentially modifiable factor, is associated with an increased risk for MCI and whether the relation is specific to the type of MCI. Objective To investigate whether a diagnosis of COPD and duration of COPD are associated with an increased risk for incident MCI and MCI subtypes (amnestic MCI [A-MCI] and nonamnestic MCI [NA-MCI]). Design, setting, and participants A prospective population-based cohort from the Mayo Clinic Study on Aging. We included 1425 cognitively normal individuals aged 70 to 89 years who were randomly selected from Olmsted County, Minnesota, on October 1, 2004, using the medical records linkage system. At baseline and every 15 months thereafter, participants underwent assessment with a nurse interview, neurologic examination, and neuropsychological testing. A diagnosis of COPD was confirmed via medical record review. A baseline diagnosis of COPD and duration of COPD were examined as risk factors for MCI and MCI subtypes using Cox proportional hazards models and adjusting for demographic variables and medical comorbidities, with age as the time scale. Exposure A baseline diagnosis of COPD and duration of COPD. Main outcomes and measures Incident MCI, A-MCI, and NA-MCI. Results Of the 1425 participants with normal cognition at baseline, 370 developed incident MCI. The median duration of follow-up was 5.1 years (interquartile range, 3.8-5.4 years). A diagnosis of COPD significantly increased the risk for NA-MCI by 83% (hazard ratio, 1.83 [95% CI, 1.04-3.23]), but not of any MCI or A-MCI in multivariate analyses. We found a dose-response relationship such that individuals with COPD duration of longer than 5 years at baseline had the greatest risk for any MCI (hazard ratio, 1.58 [95% CI, 1.04-2.40]) and NA-MCI (2.58 [1.32-5.06]). Conclusions and relevance A diagnosis of COPD is associated with an increased risk for MCI, particularly NA-MCI. We have found a dose-response relationship between COPD duration and risk for MCI. These findings highlight the importance of COPD as a risk factor for MCI and may provide a substrate for early intervention to prevent or delay the onset and progression of MCI, particularly NA-MCI.
Key findings
- However, few studies have assessed whether COPD, a potentially modifiable factor, is associated with an increased risk for MCI and whether the relation is specific to the type of MCI.
- Objective To investigate whether a diagnosis of COPD and duration of COPD are associated with an increased risk for incident MCI and MCI subtypes (amnestic MCI [A-MCI] and nonamnestic MCI [NA-MCI]).
- Results Of the 1425 participants with normal cognition at baseline, 370 developed incident MCI.
- A diagnosis of COPD significantly increased the risk for NA-MCI by 83% (hazard ratio, 1.83 [95% CI, 1.04-3.23]), but not of any MCI or A-MCI in multivariate analyses.
- We found a dose-response relationship such that individuals with COPD duration of longer than 5 years at baseline had the greatest risk for any MCI (hazard ratio, 1.58 [95% CI, 1.04-2.40]) and NA-MCI (2.58 [1.32-5.06]).
Why it matters
In this prospective study of 1,425 cognitively normal people aged 70 to 89, a diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was examined as a potentially modifiable risk factor for developing mild cognitive impairment and its subtypes. The study addresses risk rather than treatment, and does not show that treating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease prevents mild cognitive impairment.
Study details
- Study designcross-sectional
- Participants1,425
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 67/100
Published in a leading specialty journal, and it is a randomised controlled trial. Scored zero for effect reported because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (JAMA neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | JAMA Neurology: journal h-index 235 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 11 / 12 | A randomised controlled trial (from PubMed type “Randomized Controlled Trial”) |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2014 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 3 / 4 | 1,425 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 1 / 2 | Randomised (as stated in the record) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 143 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 10.2 citations a year over 14 year(s) since 2014 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 9.5× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 1 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 25 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Ronald Carl Petersen: h-index 209 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Mayo Clinic: institution h-index 1,606 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 24637951) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 67 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
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Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Singh, B., Mielke, M. M., Parsaik, A. K., Cha, R. H., Roberts, R. O., Scanlon, P. D., et al. (2014). A prospective study of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and the risk for mild cognitive impairment. JAMA neurology. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2014.94
Vancouver
Singh B, Mielke MM, Parsaik AK, Cha RH, Roberts RO, Scanlon PD, et al. A prospective study of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and the risk for mild cognitive impairment. JAMA neurology. 2014. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2014.94. PMID: 24637951.
BibTeX
@article{singh2014-24637951,
author = {Singh, B. and Mielke, M. M. and Parsaik, A. K. and Cha, R. H. and Roberts, R. O. and Scanlon, P. D. and Geda, Y. E. and Christianson, T. J. and others},
title = {{A prospective study of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and the risk for mild cognitive impairment}},
journal = {JAMA neurology},
year = {2014},
doi = {10.1001/jamaneurol.2014.94},
pmid = {24637951},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2014.94}
}
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