Evaluation of Neurocognitive Disorder in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a syndrome characterized by hyperglycemia due to absolute or relative deficiency of insulin or both. In India, an estimated 40 million people suffered from diabetes in 2007 and are expected to rise to 70 million by 2025 as per the Indian Diabetes Study 2011. Individuals with type 2 diabetes are at 60% greater risk for development of dementia compared to those without diabetes. For vascular dementia, but not for nonvascular dementia, the additional risk is that it is greater in women. Aim and Objective: To assess cognitive impairment among type 2 DM patients. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 67 patients with type 2 DM and 66 control attending Put patient department (OPD) services between October 2018 and September 2020 were included. Both these groups were scored on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). The scores ranged from zero to 30. The scores of ≥26 were considered normal. A score of ≤22.1 in these people was considered as mild cognitive. Categorical data were represented in the form of frequencies and proportions. Chi-square test or Fischer exact test were used as test of significance for qualitative data. Correlations were performed with Pearson correlation coefficient. The P-value < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant after assuming all the rules of statistical tests. Results: Age and duration of diabetes had positive correlation with MoCA score which was not statistically significant. The body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference had negative correlation with MoCA score which was not statistically significant. Hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c) had negative correlation with MoCA score which was statistically significant. Conclusion: Older individuals with longer duration of DM and higher HbA1c levels showed higher cognitive impairment with MoCA score correlation. This study also highlights the early screening for all DM patients with easily available MoCA scores. Thus, helping in early recognition of mild cognitive impairment and preventing it from proceeding to dementia.