Indian Journal of Health Sciences and Biomedical Research KLEU (Jan 2024)

Exploring the impact of thyroid disorders on cognitive domains with Mini Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination: A prospective study

  • Sona P Sam,
  • Riya Jose,
  • Bhavya Poojary,
  • Merlin Maria Wilson,
  • Ann Elizabeth George,
  • Mallikarjuna V Jeeragi

DOI
https://doi.org/10.4103/kleuhsj.kleuhsj_456_23
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 17, no. 1
pp. 72 – 76

Abstract

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BACKGROUND: Cognitive impairment is a common issue among individuals with thyroid disorders, which can affect their cognitive abilities without completely interfering with their daily tasks. Early screening is important to provide social and psychological support and the best care and intervention. The Mini-Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination (M-ACE) assessment tool has been found to be more accurate and reliable in identifying Alzheimer's disease from mild cognitive impairment and control groups. OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to investigate the impact of thyroid disorders on various cognitive domains using the M-ACE tool and evaluate its practicality in assessing patients. METHODS: In a 6-month cross-sectional study conducted at a tertiary care teaching hospital, 202 thyroid patients were evaluated using the M-ACE tool to assess their cognitive status. The patient's responses were scored to determine their overall cognitive status and the most affected cognitive domain. Data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel and International Business Machines Statistical Package for Social Sciences (IBM SPSS) version 25, with a significance level of P < 0.05. RESULTS: This study found that 29.21% of the patients had cognitive impairment, with memory being the most affected domain (MCI = 10.17 ± 1.33 and dementia = 6.83 ± 1.66). A significant difference was observed between groups with no cognitive impairment, MCI, and dementia (P < 0.00001). CONCLUSION: In this study, thyroid disorders significantly affected attention, memory, language, and visuospatial domains of cognition, and memory was the most affected domain. This provides insight into the importance of early identification of cognitive decline, especially in thyroid patients. In addition, our findings suggest that the M-ACE questionnaire is a reliable and convenient tool for assessing cognitive status.

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