Abstract: Objective To analyze the characteristics of cognitive function changes and its associated risk factors in hemodialysis patients. Methods Baseline data of hemodialysis patients and the results of two Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale (MoCA) tests were collected. The characteristics of cognitive function changes in patients in two years were analyzed, and the associated risk factors of cognitive function changes were analyzed by multiple linear regression method.Results A total of 103 patients were included in the study (67.0%). It was found that age, dialysis age and the prevalence rates of stroke and heart disease were higher in cognitive impairment group than those in normal group. And hemoglobin level, education and the scores of MoCA were significantly lower in cognitive impairment group than those in normal group(P＜0.05). After two years, the scores of MoCA, visual space, executive function and delayed recall were significantly lower than those of baseline (P＜0.05). Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that changes of MoCA were affected by age, education level, history of heart disease and dialysis age; changes of visual space and executive function were affected by age, education level and history of heart disease; and changes of delayed recall were affected by age, education level and dialysis age (all P＜0.05). Conclusion Cognitive function shows a significant downward trend during a two-year period in hemodialysis patients, which are mainly in the area of visual space, executive function and delayed recall. Older age, lower education, history of heart disease and longer dialysis age are risk factors for cognitive decline in these patients.

Key words: renal dialysis, cognitive dysfunction, risk factors, hemodialysis