Comparison of the relationship between cognitive function and future falls in Chinese community-dwelling older adults with and without diabetes mellitus

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine whether cognitive function is associated with future falls in older patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) compared with those without DM. Cognitive function was divided into several domains to further analyze. Methods: A total of 678 individuals met the inclusion criteria and comprised the final study population. The mean age was 74.35 ± 5.35 years, and 58.9% of the participants were female (n = 400). At the baseline, cognitive function was measured by the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), and DM diagnoses were determined by medical records. The self-reported any falls data were obtained via face-to-face questioning at the 1-year follow-up. Results: At baseline, 15.6% of participants (n = 106) were diagnosed with DM. According to whether they had any falls during 1-year follow-up, there was a significant difference between the two group in fasting plasma glucose (p = 0.012) and DM (p = 0.036) at baseline. Among the older adults with DM, those who had experienced any falls had poorer cognitive function (p = 0.014). After adjusting for various covariates, we found that MMSE (95% CI 0.790–0.991, p = 0.034), orientation to place (95% CI 0.307–0.911, p = 0.022) and registration (95% CI 0.162–0.768, p = 0.009) were significantly associated with falls in the follow-up. Conclusion: Our study found that in patients with DM, cognitive function is related to future falls. Not only overall cognitive function, but also orientation to place and registration were all associated with future falls in older adults with DM. When completing the fall risk assessment of elderly patients with DM, clinicians should give more attention to the testing of cognitive function.

Keywords

• Cognitive function
• Fall risks
• Diabetes
• Older adults