Relationship Between Self-Care Behavior and Cognitive Function in Hospitalized Adult Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Jin Yang,1,* Zhenzhen Zhang,2,* Lijie Zhang,3 Ye Su,3 Yumei Sun,3 Qun Wang1 1Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing 100191, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, People’s Republic of China; 3Peking University School of Nursing, Beijing 100191, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Yumei SunPeking University School of Nursing, Beijing 100191, People’s Republic of ChinaTel [phone]Fax [phone]Email [email protected] WangDepartment of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Peking University Third Hospital, 49 North Garden Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100191, People’s Republic of ChinaTel [phone]Fax [phone]Email [email protected]: To investigate the relationship between diabetes self-care behavior and cognitive function of hospitalized young and middle-aged Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).Patients and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, young and middle-aged T2DM patients (age range, 35– 65 years) were recruited at 4 tertiary hospitals between July 2016 and January 2017. Data pertaining to self-care behavior and cognitive function were collected using two questionnaires (the Summary of Diabetes Self-care Activities [SDSCA] and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment [MoCA], respectively). Multivariate linear regression analysis was performed to assess the correlation between cognitive function and self-care activities.Results: A total of 140 patients with diabetes were enrolled (mean age, 53.79± 7.96 years). The mean duration of T2DM was 10.83± 6.76 years. Regarding SDSCA performance, the mean scores for foot care and blood glucose monitoring were 2.20± 2.57 and 1.98± 2.45, respectively, which were the worst; scores for exercise (4.01± 2.58) and diet (3.16± 1.89) were better, while scores for medication administration (5.26± 2.79) were the best. The prevalence of cognitive impairment was 37.9% (53 patients). After variables adjustment, delayed recall showed a significant correlation with blood sugar monitoring behavior (B =0.224, P=0.019); visual space and executive function (B=0.255, P=0.009) and abstraction (B=− 0.337, P=0.001) showed a correlation with foot care behavior.Conclusion: Cognitive ability affects the self-care behavior of patients with T2DM. Assessment of cognitive function may help inform patient education interventions to improve the self-care behavior of these patients.Keywords: young and middle-aged, cognitive impairment, self-care behaviors, type 2 diabetes mellitus

Keywords

• young and middle-aged
• cognitive impairment
• self-care behaviors
• type 2 diabetes mellitus