Abstract
Background
Many elderly patients with Chronic Kidney disease (CKD) develop cognitive impairment and dementia. Cognitive impairment impacts CKD patients negatively by functional dependence and recurrent hospitalization. The Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer’s Disease (CERAD) neuropsychological battery was originally developed to identify early Alzheimer’s disease, but it has become a widely used instrument to assess different levels & domains of cognitive and executive functions.
Aim
the aim of the study was to assess cognitive function in elderly patients with CKD.
Patients and Methods
one hundred CKD patients were recruited from outpatient clinics of Ain Shams University hospital. CERAD neuropsychological battery was used to measure cognitive functions in different domains (language functions, verbal learning, visuospatial functions, delayed recall, memory consolidation, recognition memory, and executive functions).
Results
CKD patients had low mean verbal fluency and mean MMSE while language functions score hadn’t been affected. There was a significant positive correlation (p < 0.001) between the mean eGFR and the CERAD total score.
Conclusion
This study contributes to the belief that an association exists between renal impairment and cognition, CERAD total score in CKD patients was inversely correlated to eGFR. Age and educational level significantly affect cognitive performance.
