EFFECT OF TYPE-II DIABETES-MELLITUS ON COGNITIVE FUNCTION

Background. As people with diabetes mellitus suffer from peripheral an d autonomic neuropathy, we thought it possible that deficits in cognit ive function might also be found. Our objective was to compare the cog nitive function of elderly persons with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) with a matched sample of persons without NIDDM. Meth ods. Ninety outpatients over 50 years of age with NIDDM and 90 matched nondiabetic patients were recruited for the study. The Modified Mini- Mental State (3MS) and the Delayed Word Recall (DWR) test were used to assess cognitive function. Results. On the 3MS test, the mean score o f persons with NIDDM was 75.6, and that of nondiabetic persons was 79. 5 (two-tailed t = 3.04, P = .013). On the DWR, the mean score of perso ns with NIDDM was 3.9, and that of persons without NIDDM was 4.7 (two- tailed t = 3.52, P = .012). Conclusions. Persons with NIDDM had signif icantly poorer scores on two tests of cognitive function. Physicians s hould be aware of this association between type II diabetes and a smal l but definite impairment of cognitive function.