Researchers at New Mexico State University have found that cognitive impairments may increase the risk of premature death in Americans with chronic diseases.
Two new NMSU studies examined the combination of cognitive impairments and chronic diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, and diabetes. The studies suggest that while diseases like COPD and diabetes independently pose a risk to life expectancy, their coexistence with declining cognitive function significantly amplifies the risk of death among adult Americans.
Three faculty members from NMSU's Department of Public Health Sciences, Jagdish Khubchandani, Elizabeth England-Kennedy and Karen Kopera-Frye, co-authored the studies, using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and the National Death Index.
"More than half of the U.S. adults have a chronic disease, and more than two-thirds of the senior population have a chronic disease," said Khubchandani, a professor of public health who co-authored both studies. "As the population continues to age, we aimed to find how cognitive functioning may impact survival probability among those with chronic diseases."
In the first study, the researchers analyzed a sample of 2,013 adults 65 and older. They found that 39.1% had lower cognitive function and 12.7% had COPD. Their analysis shows that while the risk of early death was 4.92 times higher among those with COPD alone, the risk increased more than 8 times among those with both COPD and lower cognitive functioning.
"These findings suggest that addressing cognitive health is a crucial, yet frequently ignored, part of managing COPD in older patients to mitigate the risk of life loss and premature death," said England-Kennedy, an assistant professor of public health and co-author of the first study.
In the second study, the researchers focused on Hispanic adults 60 and older and the combined effects of diabetes and cognitive function. The analysis in this study shows that among a sample of 636 people nationwide, 23.3% had diabetes and 54.9% had low cognitive functioning.
The study found that the combination of diabetes and low cognitive performance was associated with a more than twofold increase in risk of premature death. In contrast to the combined effect, neither diabetes nor cognitive impairment alone showed a statistically significant increase in death risk among the study sample.
"Our findings underscore the disproportionately high risk of diabetes and cognitive impairments faced by Hispanics and how the risk of health and life loss highly increases when these two chronic conditions are present simultaneously," said Kopera-Frye, a professor of public health and co-author of the second study.
The researchers wrote that the findings have implications for clinical practice, research and policy.
"Clinicians may not screen for cognitive function or often assume that patients can manage their diseases. We need comprehensive screening for cognitive abilities among older patients, which will help understand to what extent this population needs help with managing chronic diseases, social services, and assistance with other resources," Khubchandani said.
He added, "Along with a complicated and fragmented health care system, lack of economic and social support, physical limitations and emotional strain, low health literacy and health care access, older Americans with chronic diseases often struggle with information overload, confusion and cognitive impairments that make it very difficult to live a quality life."
To read the studies, visit https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/15/9/988 or https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11593824/.
The full article can be seen at https://newsroom.nmsu.edu/news/nmsu-studies--cognitive-impairments-linked-with-premature-death-among-americans-with-chronic-disease/s/02398998-f51b-4740-a3e7-4d2e72ed4d5d
