Prevalence and risk of cognitive impairment among patients with asthma: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies (assessed with the Newcastle-Ottawa scale)
PubMed 40017059 · doi:10.1002/brb3.70048
What was done
Systematic review and meta-analysis of literature in PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science up to December 25, 2023. Included studies assessing cognitive impairment, dementia, or Alzheimer's disease in asthma patients. Study quality was evaluated using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale, and random-effects models were used for meta-analysis.
What was found
Twelve studies were included (10 in the meta-analysis). The pooled prevalence of cognitive impairment in patients with asthma was 16.3%. Asthma was associated with an increased hazard ratio of 1.47 (95% CI [1.09, 1.84]) for cognitive impairment compared to non-asthma controls. Significant heterogeneity and publication bias were reported across studies.
Why it matters
Quantifies the association between asthma and elevated risk of cognitive decline, highlighting the need to evaluate cognitive health in routine asthma management.
Limits
Based on observational studies which preclude causal inference. Significant heterogeneity and publication bias were detected. The abstract does not specify the total number of participants, patient age distributions, asthma severity, or medication use.
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