High prevalence of cognitive impairment in elderly with diabetes mellitus and associated factors

Cognitive impairment in people with diabetes mellitus (DM) is multifactorial, with evidence that their poor metabolic control is related to impaired cognitive function. Background/Objectives: Identify the prevalence of diabetic older with cognitive impairment and characterize the factors associated with this finding. Methods: Cross-sectional, quantitative, descriptive and analytical research carried out with 246 diabetic older adults followed up in a specialized center in northeastern Brazil. Sociodemographic and clinical variables related to DM2 and evidence of cognitive decline were assessed using the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). Results: There was a prevalence of cognitive impairment in 74.4% of the studied sample with an association between cognitive impairment and the variables advanced age (p = 0.003) and female gender (p = 0.025). There was statistical significance between the presence of self-reported cognitive problems and cognitive impairment at evaluation (p < 0.001) and a 1.4 times higher prevalence ratio of cognitive impairment in diabetic underweight than in obese elderly (p = 0.020). Conclusions: The research reveals the high prevalence of cognitive impairment in older adults with diabetes, especially in women and advanced age. It also corroborates the association already described in the international literature between subjective complaints of memory and nutritional status and cognitive decline.