Impact of moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea on the cognition in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

INTRODUCTION:Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a relentlessly progressive lung disease with a fatal prognosis to whose rapid evolution multiple comorbidities may contribute, one of the most common being obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). There are several potential factors and conditions for the emergence of a cognitive deficit in relation to IPF or associated morbidities. OBJECTIVES:The goals of this study were to assess cognition in patients with IPF in stable phase and to identify clinical cognition modifiers. METHODS:In a cross-sectional study, 23 patients with IPF were evaluated using Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), an instrument for detecting mild cognitive impairments and were screened for OSA through overnight cardiorespiratory polygraphy and for anxiety and depression with three specific scale (Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale: GAD-7; the Patient Health Questionnaire: PHQ-9; Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale: HADS). RESULTS:MoCA score was lower in patients with IPF when compared to controls subjects (24 [21,26] vs. 27 [26,28], p = 0.003) but not as significantly as in COPD patients (21 [18.8,23.3], p<0.0001). OSA was diagnosed in 19 (82.6%) IPF patients, 12 patients showed the presence of moderate-severe forms (63.15%). IPF patients with cognitive impairment (MoCA