Lung disease in middle-aged people may increase dementia later

New York, Nov. 27 (IANS) 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 associated with dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, and mild cognitive impairment.

However, the link was stronger for restrictive lung diseases such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and sarcoidosis than for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

The reason could be that lung diseases have produced low levels of oxygen 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 public health priority, and previous studies have suggested that poor, often preventable, lung health may be associated 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, the researchers included more than 14,000 participants aged 54 years on average, of which 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 disease pulmonary.

In addition, dementia was 33% higher in those with obstructive lung disease.

–IANS

pb / rt / mag / sed