Independent and interactive effect of type 2 diabetes and hypertension on memory functions in middle aged adults

Abstract

Abstract Background The study distinguishes the effect of type 2 diabetes and hypertension on cognitive functions when the two diseases are alone or when they occur together, compared to healthy individuals. Methods A total of 143 middle-aged adults were screened using the Wechsler Memory Scale – Revised psychometric test (verbal memory, visual memory, attention/concentration and delayed memory). Participants were divided into four groups based on their diseases: patients with type 2 diabetes (36), patients with hypertension (30), patients having both diseases (33), and healthy controls (44). Results This study found no differences among investigated groups in verbal and visual memory, however, hypertension and both-disease group performed unfavorably compared to patients with diabetes and to healthy individuals in attention/concentration and delayed memory. Conclusions The findings of this study suggest that there is a relationship between hypertension and cognitive dysfunction, whereas type 2 diabetes without consequences was not proved to have an association with cognitive decline in middle-aged people.

Keywords

• Attention and concentration
• Delayed memory
• Hypertension
• Type 2 diabetes
• Verbal memory
• Visual memory