Researchers at Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust and the Northern Care Alliance, working with colleagues in the Geoffrey Jefferson Brain Research Centre at the University of Manchester and international collaborators in Spain and Italy have examined the case files of over half a million patients in the TriNetX database. TriNetX is an international database of real-world patient data. The research followed health outcomes over a number of years. They found that people with both cognitive impairment and chronic kidney disease (CKD) had worse health outcomes than people with CKD alone. This included a higher risk of death overall with higher risks of stroke, urinary infections and pneumonia. The research was published this month in the Clinical Kidney Journal.

Dr. Lino Merlino, a PhD student at the University of Manchester and nephrologist at Salford Royal Hospital led the analysis. Dr. Merlino said ‘These results highlight the need for routine comprehensive cognitive assessments in patients at any stage of CKD.’ His PhD focuses on cognitive impairment in people living with Chronic Kidney Disease, and the effect of haemodialysis on blood markers of brain injury.

Dr. Ross Dunne at GMMH, who supervised the research alongside NCA’s Prof. Phil Kalra said: “More and more we are seeing that people living with cognitive impairment alongside other chronic illnesses are prone to worse outcomes. Mental and physical illness go hand in hand. This work shows that the NHS needs to adapt, to improve the physical healthcare of people living with mental illness and the brain health of those living with chronic physical illness.”

You can read the full paper here.

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