Prevalence and factors associated with cognitive impairment among persons with type 2 diabetes mellitus: A cross-sectional study in medical college hospitals of South India

Abstract

Background: The increased prevalence of diabetes is of a major concern in the background of a developing country like India with tremendous population. Diabetes Mellitus type 2 leads to complications if not diagnosed early and started on treatment. Adding to this, persons with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) are also vulnerable to develop cognitive impairment and affects many cognitive domains. Therefore, recognition of cognitive disorders among diabetic persons with T2DM are important. Method: ology: This is a cross sectional study done in persons with T2DM attending two tertiary care teaching hospitals. There were a total of 108 study participants aged ≥18 years and the study was done for one month. Cognitive screening was carried out using Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and a score of ≥26 out of 30 was considered as normal cognitive function. Results: It was observed that 45 (41.70 %) of the participants had cognitive impairment and it was found to be higher among persons aged ≥60 years, 27 (75.0 %) when compared to age 7years, 41 (70.70 %), had cognitive impairment while 17 (29.30 %) did not have (p < 0.01). Cognitive impairment was found to be significantly higher among participants with hypertension (74.20 %) when compared to those without hypertension (59.70 %). Conclusion: Prevalence of cognitive impairment in persons with T2DM was found out to be 58.30 %. Duration of diabetes ≥7 years was found to be the significant factor associated with cognitive impairment in our research.

Keywords

• Cognitive impairment
• Diabetes
• Cross-sectional study
• South India
• Mental health
• Non-communicable disease