Abstract

Association between Disease Severity, Risk Factors and Demographic Characteristics with Verbal-Auditory Memory Impairment in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease

Background: Cognitive impairment is commonly found in patients with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and might affect several domains. Early identification is important since it is related to health-related quality of life. This study aimed to assess the verbal-auditory memory function and determine its association with disease severity, risk factors, and demographic characteristics. Methods: We studied 50 CKD patients in Haji Adam Malik General Hospital, Medan, Indonesia, and classified the severity into stages 3, 4, and 5 based on the estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (GFR). The cognitive function was assessed using Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RALVT) to assess verbalmemory auditory function. We collected demographic data and vascular risk factors. Results: Most subjects were males (33 patients; 66%) and at stage 5 (25 patients; 50%). The mean age was 49.76 ± 12.28 years, the mean duration of CKD was 34.10 ± 33.72 months, and the mean GFR was 20.84 ± 20.30 mL/min/1.73 m². We found significantly lower scores of RAVLT in patients with more severe CKD. There was also a significant correlation between GFR and each of the RAVLT scores, and no significant correlation between GFR and age or education. There was no significant difference in the scores based on the presence of the vascular risk factors. Conclusion: Memory impairment was associated with more advanced stages in CKD patients, but not related to demographic or vascular risk factors. Early identification of cognitive impairment is important in CKD patients and should be part of a routine examination.

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