Does Type 1 Diabetes Increase the Risk for Cognitive Decline?

Patients with long-standing type 1 diabetes had lower cognitive performance regardless of other diabetes-related complications, according to a recent study.

The study included 43 patients who had had type 1 diabetes for over 30 years without micro- or macro-vascular complications and 86 age-, gender-, and education-matched  participants without diabetes (mean age 57 years, mean diabetes duration 41 years). Participants completed 6 cognitive tests that assessed episodic memory, semantic memory, episodic short-term memory, visual attention, and psychomotor speed.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
RELATED CONTENT
New Recommendations Released for Exercise in Type 1 Diabetes Patients
New Studies Compare Continuous Glucose Monitoring with Standard Care in Patients with Type 1 Diabetes
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Patients with diabetes had lower results on tests for episodic short-term memory compared with participants without diabetes, and lower values on tests for visual attention and psychomotor speed.

While body mass index, waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, and smoking status did not differ between groups, patients with diabetes had lower diastolic blood pressure that those without diabetes.

“Long-standing [type 1 diabetes] was associated with lower cognitive performance, regardless of other diabetes-related complications,” the researchers concluded.

—Melissa Weiss

Reference:

Awad A, Lundqvist R, Rolandsson O, Sundström A, and Eliasson M. Lower cognitive performance among long-term type 1 diabetes survivors: a case-control study [published online February 9, 2017]. J. Diabetes Complicat. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jdiacomp.2017.04.023.