HealthDay TV: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, otherwise known as COPD, is a common condition that oftentimes flies under the radar. A common -but incorrect- assumption: If you are breathing OK, all must be fine.

Not true: news out this week in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine tells us that COPD can lead to poor mental capacity over time.

Patients with COPD likely have periods of hypoxia -or low oxygen levels- that can affect the brain along with every other part of the body. Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine compared the cognitive performance of over 4,000 adults with and without COPD and found that those with severe COPD had significantly lower function. An additional challenge then arises...this impairment can, in turn, make the COPD more difficult to manage. Patients with untreated cognitive difficulties have a harder time adhering to their treatment regimens and may, as a consequence, fair much worse in health outcomes.

If you or your loved one has COPD, be aware of this increased risk for cognitive decline...and head the other challenges of reduced health outcomes off at the pass. I'm Dr. Cindy Haines for HealthDay TV, bringing you what doctors are reading and why it matters...to you.