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Chronic kidney disease and cognitive impairment: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Etgen T, Chonchol M, Förstl H, Sander D.. American journal of nephrology, 2012-05-03
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Background Chronic kidney disease (CKD) has emerged as a possible new risk factor of cognitive impairment and dementia, but results of studies remain conflicting. Methods A systematic literature research of electronic databases (MEDLINE, Cochrane Library and Goggle Scholar covering the period from 1980 to January 2012) and meta-analysis of relevant cross-sectional and longitudinal studies were conducted to assess the association of CKD and cognitive decline. Results Most cross-sectional and longitudinal studies suggest an association between cognitive impairment and CKD. Meta-analysis of cross-sectional and longitudinal studies comprising 54,779 participants yielded an association of cognitive decline in patients with CKD compared with patients without CKD (OR 1.65, 95% CI 1.32-2.05; p Conclusion This is the first meta-analysis assessing the impact of CKD on cognitive decline. Our results suggest CKD being a significant and independent somatic risk factor in the development of cognitive decline.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Etgen, T., Chonchol, M., Förstl, H., & Sander, D. (2012). Chronic kidney disease and cognitive impairment: a systematic review and meta-analysis. American journal of nephrology. https://doi.org/10.1159/000338135
Vancouver
Etgen T, Chonchol M, Förstl H, Sander D. Chronic kidney disease and cognitive impairment: a systematic review and meta-analysis. American journal of nephrology. 2012. doi:10.1159/000338135. PMID: 22555151.
BibTeX
@article{etgen2012-22555151,
author = {Etgen, T. and Chonchol, M. and Förstl, H. and Sander, D.},
title = {{Chronic kidney disease and cognitive impairment: a systematic review and meta-analysis}},
journal = {American journal of nephrology},
year = {2012},
doi = {10.1159/000338135},
pmid = {22555151},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1159/000338135}
}
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Key findings
- Background Chronic kidney disease (CKD) has emerged as a possible new risk factor of cognitive impairment and dementia, but results of studies remain conflicting.
- Results Most cross-sectional and longitudinal studies suggest an association between cognitive impairment and CKD.
- Meta-analysis of cross-sectional and longitudinal studies comprising 54,779 participants yielded an association of cognitive decline in patients with CKD compared with patients without CKD (OR 1.65, 95% CI 1.32-2.05; p < 0.001, and OR 1.39, 95% CI 1.15-1.68; p < 0.001, respectively).
- Our results suggest CKD being a significant and independent somatic risk factor in the development of cognitive decline.
Why it matters
This meta-analysis of 54,779 participants found that people with chronic kidney disease had higher odds of cognitive decline than those without it. It suggests chronic kidney disease is a significant and independent risk factor for cognitive decline, but does not test any treatment or prevention.
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Study details
- Study designmeta-analysis
- Participants54,779
- Effect sizeOR 1.65
- Evidence strengthHigh
Limitations
The abstract's own conclusion is described only in general terms (“most studies suggest an association”) without a pooled effect size, and it draws on a mix of cross-sectional and longitudinal designs, which differ in how well they can establish which came first.
How this study scored 69/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a meta-analysis pooling many studies.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (American journal of nephrology) |
| Journal's citation record | 1 / 4 | American Journal of Nephrology: journal h-index 127 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 12 / 12 | A meta-analysis pooling many studies |
| Strength of evidence | 5 / 5 | Rated “high” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2012 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 4 / 4 | 54,779 participants |
| Effect reported | 3 / 3 | Effect reported with a statistic (interval, p-value, ratio or similar) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | A review of other studies — randomisation is not credited here |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 362 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 22.6 citations a year over 16 year(s) since 2012 |
| Impact for its field and year | 2 / 6 | Cited 1.9× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 2 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 85 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Dirk Sander: h-index 51 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Technical University of Munich: institution h-index 1,092 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 22555151) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 69 / 100 | — |
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