Cognitive Function-a Comparison Between Elderly Non Diabetic and Diabetic Subjects.

Abstract

Introduction:-Increase in life expectancy and fall in death rate has led to rise in the proportion of the elderly in the community all over the world. The ageing population is facing a double epidemic of dementia including Alzheimer"s disease and diabetes mellitus. The increase in diabetes among elderly is concerning because, in addition to the traditional diabetes complications like acute hyperglycemic and hypoglycemic events and vascular complications, diabetes also affects the central nervous system, a complication referred to as "diabetic encephalopathy", which presents as impaired cognitive functioning and is also associated with an increased risk of dementia. Hence this study was under taken to draw attention to the occurrence of cognitive impairment in type 2 diabetes mellitus, in our community, and thereby pave the way for future initiatives to reduce its incidence.Aim and objectives:-To compare the cognitive functions of elderly nondiabetic subjects with that of elderly type 2 diabetes mellitus subjects using standard neuropsychological tests and to correlate with their blood sugar and lipid levels. Materials and methods:-The study was conducted in 60 participants in the age group of 58-65 years. Of these the case group comprised of 30 individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus and the control group was formed by age, gender and education matched non-diabetic individuals. Blood samples were collected from all participants. After a brief screening test the participants were asked to take the neuropsychological test battery for evaluating their cognitive status. Comparison of the raw test scores of the cases and controls was done using the student"t" test.Results and conclusion:-The diabetes group showed poorer performance in all the cognitive function tests than the non-diabetes group with no correlation between blood glucose and cholesterol levels and the neuropsychological test scores of the patients. Hence, it can be concluded that periodical assessment of cognitive functions in diabetes clinics would be helpful in early identification and management of cases with cognitive impairment, which in turn can reverse the cognitive decline and prevent the development of dementias in these patients.