Living with kidney disease and undergoing hemodialysis can take a heavy toll on the body. Beyond physical health, many patients worry about how these treatments and underlying conditions might affect their memory and mental clarity over time. This review looked at what specific factors are linked to cognitive impairment and cognitive frailty in adults on hemodialysis.
Researchers found that several factors increase the risk of cognitive impairment, including older age, being female, having diabetes, and having cerebrovascular disease. They also noted that having multiple health problems, lower hemoglobin levels, and certain inflammatory markers are linked to higher risks. On the other hand, having a higher level of education was found to reduce the risk of cognitive impairment.
When looking specifically at cognitive frailty, the study found that a history of stroke, longer dialysis duration, and low-flux hemodialysis were linked to higher risk. Depression and low blood pressure between dialysis sessions also showed links to frailty. It is important to note that most of these findings were based on low or very low certainty evidence, so these results should be viewed as early indicators rather than certainties.
