The effect of disease severity on cognitive functionsand balance tests in individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease under 65 years of age

Cognitive problems may develop in the advenced stages of the disease in cases with COPD. Studies investigating cognitive functions in COPD have generally been conducted in elderly patients with severe hypoxemia. There is no comprehensive study examining the effects of cognitive functions and balance test in young COPD patients with disease severity. With our study, we aimed to evaluate the effect of disease severity on cognitive functions and balance test in patients with COPD under 65 years of age. The study was conducted on patients with COPD under the age of 65 who applied to the chest disease outpatient clinic of Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University Training and Research Hospital or were hospitalized between September 2019 and March 2020.A total of 60 COPD patients and 30 healthy control groups were included in the study. Disease severity was assessed by mMRC, CAT, number of annual exacerbations; groups were divided into A, B, C, D according to GOLD unified staging system. The patients were divided into 2 groups, A+C and B+D according to the severity of the disease and both groupswere evaluated in comparasion with the control group.Demographic data, CAT scores, mMRC dspnea scores of all patients were recorded. BECK depression scale, standardized mini mental test and BERG balance scale were applied to the patients, respectively, variables were recorded. BERG balance scale and MMT values were found to be significantly lower (p<0,001) in patients with COPD compared to the control group. It was observed that the mean BERG balance scale values of the patients in the B+D group were significantly lower than the A+C group. MMT ve SPO2 values were the lowest in B+D group. There was no significant relationship between the number of emergency visits and the MMT and BERG balance scale.It was observed that there was a positive, weak (r=0,331) and statistically significant relationship (p<0,05) between MMT and BERG. In our study, it was found that cognitive functions and balance deteriorated as the disease severity increased in young COPD patients, regardless of age. As it is known that the loss of cognitive function increases with age, the importance of early diagnosis and treatment of COPD disease becomes evident. In addition, early neurological examination is thought to be important in the early detection of cognitive dysfunction in the COPD population Loss of balance is associated with both mortality and morbidity. Balance losses in COPD patients should be taken seriously and necessary treatments should be planned to prevent disease progression. Our study is a single center, and multi-center, comprehensive studies are needed.