Phase angle was associated with improved cognitive function over time with mediation from pulse wave velocity in type 2 diabetes mellitus

The participants' mean age was 60.6 ± 7.8 years. Higher PhA was cross-sectionally associated with higher RBANS total score with adjusted coefficient 1.17 (95%CI 0.40 to 1.94; p = 0.003). 834 patients were followed up to 8.4 years. Higher PhA was longitudinally associated with higher RBANS total score with adjusted coefficient 1.18 (95%CI 0.44 to 1.93; p = 0.002). There was also positive association between PhA and domain scores in visuospatial-construction (coefficient 1.40; 95%CI 0.31 to 2.49; p = 0.012), attention (coefficient 1.83; 95%CI 0.80 to 2.86; p <0.001) and delayed memory (coefficient 1.86; 95%CI 0.60 to 3.12; p = 0.004) in adjusted longitudinal analyses. Mediation analysis revealed that PWV accounted for 10% of the association between PhA and follow-up RBANS total score (p = 0.044) CONCLUSION: Our findings revealed previously unobserved findings of longitudinal associations between PhA with cognitive function globally with PWV as a potential mediator. The associations were also evident in multiple cognitive domains, including memory, attention and visuospatial-construction. PhA may be a potential intervention target for early prevention of cognitive impairment in T2D in future clinical practice.