Association between pulmonary ventilatory function and mild cognitive impairment: A population-based study in rural China

Abstract

Background: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a reversible intermediate state, plays an important role in the development and prevention of dementia. The relationship between pulmonary function and MCI risk has not yet been well-elucidated.

Methods: We included 2,947 rural Chinese residents aged ≥35 years who were free from a history of stroke, dementia, or other brain diseases and measured pulmonary ventilatory function using calibrated spirometry according to the recommended method. MCI was assessed with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment-Basic for Chinese scale. Logistic regression models and restricted cubic splines with covariate adjustment were performed to explore the association between pulmonary function and MCI risk.

Results: The prevalence of MCI increased with decreasing pulmonary function, from the lowest quartile to the highest quartile of pulmonary function: 63.9, 50.5, 43.8, and 43.6%, respectively. After adjustment for confounding factors, participants in the first quartile had a significantly increased risk of MCI (ORs, 1.691, 95% CI, 1.267-2.258), with the highest quartile as the reference. In the subgroup analysis, a significant association of pulmonary function and MCI was found in females and those with low physical activity. Meanwhile, we observed an L-shaped relationship between pulmonary function and MCI (P _non-linear = 0.032).

Conclusions: Poor pulmonary function was associated with an increased risk of MCI among rural Chinese adults, and presented a non-linear relationship. These findings remind us of the need for early cognitive assessment in local populations with lower pulmonary function.

Keywords: cognition; cross-sectional study; mild cognitive impairment; pulmonary function; rural.