Appraisal of cognitive function of diabetics in a rural healthcare teaching institute

Context (Background): Cognitive dysfunctions as the unexplored complications in diabetics need to be systematically studied. Aims: To assess the correlation between type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and associated cognitive dysfunctions with varying age groups and duration. Settings and Design: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary care teaching institute in eastern India. Materials and Methods: In this study the participants were allocated into five groups according to duration of diabetes, for example, less than 3 months, 3 months-5 years, 6-10 years, 11-20 years, and more than 20 years. Each of these groups was then classified into following six subgroups according to age: group A (20 years or less), group B (21-30 years), group C (31-40 years), group D (41-50 years), group E (51-60 years), and group F (more than 60 years). A predesigned, pretested, semi-structured questionnaire was used to find the cognitive functions based on the Global Deterioration Scale (GDS) in diabetics and age-matched nondiabetic participants. Statistical Analysis Used: Statistical analysis using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 11.0 to calculate proportions and significance test were done in this study. Results: There was noticeable attenuation of cognitive functions in diabetics in all age groups irrespective of duration of the morbidity. Further, a distinct pattern of incremental cognitive dysfunctions was also noticed as the age progressed in diabetics and in healthy controls. Conclusion: Diabetics are more at risk of cognitive dysfunctions than age-matched controls, which needs more elaborative studies.