International Journal of COPD (May 2020)

Mid-Term Effects of Pulmonary Rehabilitation on Cognitive Function in People with Severe Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

  • Bonnevie T,
  • Medrinal C,
  • Combret Y,
  • Debeaumont D,
  • Lamia B,
  • Muir JF,
  • Cuvelier A,
  • Prieur G,
  • Gravier FE

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 15
pp. 1111 – 1121

Abstract

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Tristan Bonnevie,1,2 Clement Medrinal,2,3 Yann Combret,4,5 David Debeaumont,6 Bouchra Lamia,2,3,7 Jean-François Muir,1,2,7 Antoine Cuvelier,2,7 Guillaume Prieur,2,3,5 Francis-Edouard Gravier1,2 1ADIR Association, Rouen University Hospital, Rouen, France; 2Normandy University UNIROUEN, UPRES EA 3830, Haute Normandie Research and Biomedical Innovation, Rouen, France; 3Intensive Care Unit Department, Le Havre Hospital, Le Havre, France; 4Physiotherapy Department, Le Havre Hospital, Le Havre, France; 5Institute of Experimental and Clinical Research (IREC), Pole of Pulmonology, ORL and Dermatology, Catholic University of Louvain, Brussels, Belgium; 6Department of Respiratory and Exercise Physiology and CIC-CRB 1404, Rouen University Hospital, Rouen, France; 7Pulmonary, Thoracic Oncology and Respiratory Intensive Care Department, Rouen University Hospital, Rouen, FranceCorrespondence: Tristan BonnevieADIR Association, Rouen University Hospital, Rouen, FranceTel +33 235592970Fax +33 235592971 Email [email protected]: Cognitive dysfunction is a common impairment associated with COPD. However, little is known about 1) its prevalence among those subjects referred for pulmonary rehabilitation (PR), 2) how it may affect the benefit of PR, 3) whether PR improves cognitive function and 4) whether cognitive dysfunction affects the usability of telehealth technology usually used to deliver in-home PR.Patients and Methods: Fifty-six subjects with stable COPD (54% females, mean age 62 years (SD 9) and median FEV1 0.9 L (IQR 0.7 to 1.1)) participated in this multicenter observational study and performed 24 sessions of PR. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment tool (MoCA) was used to assess the occurrence of mild cognitive dysfunction (using a screening cutoff < 26) at baseline, completion of PR and 3 months of follow-up.Results: Mild cognitive dysfunction was found in 41 subjects (73% [95% CI: 60 to 83%]). The MoCA score significantly improved following PR for those people with baseline mild cognitive dysfunction (p< 0.01). There was no significant difference in clinical outcomes between those people with or without mild cognitive dysfunction following PR nor in the proportion of subjects who were autonomous in using the telemonitoring system (83% compared with 71%, p=0.60).Conclusion: Mild cognitive dysfunction is highly prevalent among those people with COPD referred for PR but does not affect the benefits of PR nor the usability of a telemonitoring system. PR may improve short- and mid-term cognitive function for those people who experience mild cognitive dysfunction at the time they are referred to PR.Keywords: COPD, pulmonary rehabilitation, exercise, cognitive dysfunction

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