• Cardiovascular

    Chronic Lung Disease Linked to Cognitive Impairment, Memory Loss

People with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are about twice as likely to develop mild cognitive impairment Elderly caucasian man in a white t-shirt with a physician listening to his chest with a stethoscope(MCI) – and chances are that it will include memory loss.

First author of the Mayo Clinic study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings Balwinder Singh, M.D., says, “COPD is reversible in early stages, especially in smokers. These findings are important because they highlight the importance of COPD as a potential risk factor for MCI and will hopefully lead to early intervention to prevent incidence or progression of MCI.”

Mayo Clinic researchers looked at about 2,000 people 70-89 year olds in the Mayo Clinic Study on Aging.

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