Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 26, 2026
Assessment of Vascular Function in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease
Published on: June 16, 2014
Anemia and risk for cognitive decline in chronic kidney disease
Manjula Kurella Tamura1,2, Eric Vittinghoff3, Jingrong Yang4
1VA Palo Alto Geriatric Research and Education Clinical Center, 3801 Miranda Ave., Palo Alto, CA, 94304, USA. mktamura@stanford.edu.
Insights
Anemia is common in chronic kidney disease (CKD) but does not appear to impact cognitive decline in older adults. This study found no independent association between anemia and cognitive function or its decline in CKD patients.
Area of Science:
- Nephrology
- Geriatrics
- Neurology
Background:
- Anemia is a frequent complication in chronic kidney disease (CKD).
- The health implications of anemia in CKD patients, particularly cognitive effects, are not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between anemia and cognitive decline in elderly individuals with CKD.
- To determine if anemia is an independent risk factor for cognitive impairment or deterioration in this population.
Main Methods:
- A subgroup of 762 adults aged 55 years and older with CKD from the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) study was analyzed.
- Anemia was defined using World Health Organization criteria. Cognitive function was assessed annually using six tests.
- Logistic regression and mixed-effects models were employed to assess baseline impairment and longitudinal changes, adjusting for covariates.
Main Results:
- Among the 762 participants (mean eGFR 42.7 mL/min/1.73 m²), 46% had anemia.
- Anemia was not independently linked to baseline cognitive impairment across any of the six tests after adjustments.
- During a median follow-up of 2.9 years, anemia showed no independent association with changes in cognitive function.
Conclusions:
- In older adults with chronic kidney disease, anemia was not found to be independently associated with their baseline cognitive status.
- Furthermore, anemia did not predict cognitive decline over the study period in this cohort.
Background:
Anemia is common among patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) but its health consequences are poorly defined. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between anemia and cognitive decline in older adults with CKD.
Methods:
We studied a subgroup of 762 adults age ≥55 years with CKD participating in the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) study. Anemia was defined according to the World Health Organization criteria (hemoglobin <13 g/dL for men and <12 g/dL for women). Cognitive function was assessed annually with a battery of six tests. We used logistic regression to determine the association between anemia and baseline cognitive impairment on each test, defined as a cognitive score more than one standard deviation from the mean, and mixed effects models to determine the relation between anemia and change in cognitive function during follow-up after adjustment for demographic and clinical characteristics.
Results:
Of 762 participants with mean estimated glomerular filtration rate of 42.7 ± 16.4 ml/min/1.73 m(2), 349 (46 %) had anemia. Anemia was not independently associated with baseline cognitive impairment on any test after adjustment for demographic and clinical characteristics. Over a median 2.9 (IQR 2.6-3.0) years of follow-up, there was no independent association between anemia and change in cognitive function on any of the six cognitive tests.
Conclusions:
Among older adults with CKD, anemia was not independently associated with baseline cognitive function or decline.
Related Concept Videos
01:24Chronic Kidney Disease II: Clinical Manifestations
01:25Chronic Kidney Disease I: Introduction
01:28Chronic Kidney Disease III: Interprofessional Care
01:18Chronic Kidney Disease IV: Nursing Management
01:30Acute Kidney Injury IV: Diagnostic Studies and Prevention
01:18Pharmacokinetics in Geriatric Patients: Effect of Age on Drug Excretion