Cognitive impairment and associated risk factors in older adult hemodialysis patients: a cross-sectional survey

The clinical epidemiological features of cognitive impairment in Chinese older adult patients undergoing hemodialysis are not clear, we aimed to identify the extent and patterns of cognitive impairment among those patients. We conducted a cross-sectional study of 613 hemodialysis patients aged 50 to 80 from 11 centers in Beijing. A neuropsychological battery of 11 tests covering domains of attention/processing speed, executive function, memory, language, and visuospatial function was applied, patients were classified as none, mild, or major cognitive impairment according to the fifth version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders criteria for cognitive impairment. Compared with Chinese population norms, 37.2% of the participants had mild cognitive impairment, 43.7% had major cognitive impairment. Memory and language were the most severe impaired domains in the mild cognitive impairment group, attention and visuospatial function domains were the most serious impaired domains in the major cognitive impairment group. Concomitant impairment across multiple cognitive domains was common. Factors associated with major cognitive impairment included age, education level, history of stroke and hypertension, dialysis vintage, and single-pool Kt/V. There is a high frequency of cognitive impairment in Chinese older adult hemodialysis patients, with varying severity and concomitant impairment across multiple domains.