Pulmonary disease in middle-aged people may increase dementia later

According to a new study, middle-aged adults with lung disease may be at higher risk of developing dementia or cognitive impairment later in life. The study found that obstructive and restrictive lung diseases were badociated with dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, and mild cognitive impairment.

However, the link was narrower for restrictive lung diseases such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and sarcoidosis than for chronic disease. obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The reason could be that lung disease has caused a drop in oxygen levels in the blood, which may have resulted in inflammation, stress and damage to the blood vessels of the brain, the researchers noted.

"The prevention of dementia is a priority of public health and of previous studies. have suggested that poor lung health, often avoidable, could be badociated with an increased risk of developing dementia, "said Pamela L. Lutsey, senior researcher at the University of Minnesota in the United States.

For the study, researchers included more than 14,000 participants with an average age of 54, of whom 1,407 cases of dementia were reported. The findings, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, showed that the risk of dementia was 58% higher in patients with restrictive lung disease than in those without lung disease.

In addition, dementia was 33% higher among those who suffer from obstructive lung disease.