Cognitive impairment and dependence of patients with diabetes older than 65 years old in an urban area (DERIVA study) Neurology, stroke and cognition

Abstract

Background: We analyzed the associations between diabetes and cognitive impairment (CI) and dependence in a population of patients 65 years or older. Methods: Cross-sectional study. We randomly selected 311 participants over the age of 65 living in an urban area of Spain. The mean age of the cohort was 75.89 ± 7.12 years, and 69 of the individuals (22.2 %) had diabetes. Two questionnaires were used to assess cognitive performance (MMSE and Seven Minute Screen Test), and two assessments were used to evaluate patient dependence (Barthel Index and Lawton-Brody Index). Clinical information and sociodemographic data were also gathered. Results: Nearly one quarter of patients with diabetes (21.7 %) lived alone. Diabetic patients were more sedentary (p =.033) than non-diabetic patients. Roughly one sixth (15.3 %) of the diabetics and 10.1 % of the non-diabetics were depressed (p =.332). CI was present in 26.1 % of the diabetics and 14.5 % of non-diabetics (p =.029). Diabetic patients had a MMSE score that was significantly worse than non-diabetics (24.88 ± 4.74 vs 26.05 ± 4.03; p