Cognitive Impairment and Its Associated Factors in Patients Undergoing Hemodialysis: A Cross Sectional Study

Background: Hemodialysis is a treatment for end-stage renal disease (ESRD)that is an underlying factor of cognitive impairment in patients.Objectives: This study was conducted to evaluate the prevalence of cognitiveimpairment and its associated factors in patients undergoing hemodialysis usingMontreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA).Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out in 2016 inthe dialysis unit of an academic hospital in the north of Iran. A total of twohundreds and twenty-four patients with chronic renal failure and ESRDpresenting to for hemodialysis were included. All the patients were evaluated bythe MoCA and the cut-off point was set at ≤25 for confirming cognitiveimpairment. The data obtained were analyzed in SPSS-18 using the Chi-squaretest, Mann-Whitney’s U-test, Fisher’s exact test, the independent t-test and thebinomial logistic regression.Results: From the total of 224 patients examined, 93 (41.52%) had developedcognitive impairment. The variables of age, stroke, education and diabetes wereentered into the logistic regression model to analyze the associated risk factors,but only age and a history of stroke showed a significant relationship with thisimpairment; that is, the possibility of cognitive impairment increases withincreasing age and a history of stroke can increase its risk six-fold.Conclusion: Cognitive impairment was a relatively frequent complication ofhemodialysis in this study which was performed in the north of Iran. Aging and ahistory of stroke are risk factors of cognitive impairment in patients with chronickidney failure undergoing hemodialysis treatment.

Cognitive Impairment and Its Associated Factors in Patients Undergoing Hemodialysis: A Cross Sectional Study Keywords:

Cognitive Dysfunction , Renal Dialysis , Kidney Failure