Abstract:

Objective To discuss the incidence of memory impairment in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease（COPD） in elderly patients and to provide the basis for the intervention of COPD.  Methods 138 elderly patients with COPD were selected as case group,90 cases of healthy elderly were used as control group.The second edition of Applied Behavioral Memory Test (RBMT-Ⅱ) on memory function was  used for personnel evaluation in two groups,including a total of 13 items,and the results were analyzed. Results Among 138 cases of COPD patients,there are  0 case of patients with no memory impairment(0%), 10 patients with mild memory impairment (7.2%),86 patients with moderate memory impairment (62.3%),42 patients with severe memory impairment (30.4%),the morbidity rate of memory impairment was 100%. In control group,there were 12 cases of patients with  no memory impairment   (13.3%), 43 patients with mild memory impairment (47.8%),29  patients with moderate memory impairment(32.2%), 6 patients with severe memory impairment(6.7%).There was statistically significant difference in morbidity rate between two groups (P<0.01).Individual preliminary scores,recalling the name,hidden goods,picture recognition,immediate story recall,delayed story recall,face recognition,immediate  letter recall,delayed letter recall,orientation,date and the total standard score  10 items in case group were significantly lower than those in control group,there were statistically significant differences (P<0.05 or P<0.01).Conclusion The elderly patients with COPD always have memory disorders，mostly moderate to severe,the intervention for stable period of   disease should be strengthened to  reduce the incidence of  memory disorders and  improve the    life quality of patients.

Key words: chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases;elderly;impaired memory