COGNITIVE DETERIORATION IN ELDERLY DIABETIC PATIENTS

Summary This study was aimed at evaluating the cerebral alterations occurring in diabetic subjects. The total study population consisted of 29 males (mean age: 76.2 ± 6.3 years) and 40 females (mean age: 74.2 ± 8.6 years). The patients were divided in 3 groups: (i) Late onset elderly diabetics (15 patients of mean age 76.9 ± 7.6 years, onset of diabetes at 70 years of age); (ii) Early onset elderly diabetics (15 patients of mean age 74.4 ± 8.3 years, onset of diabetes at 46 years of age; (iii) Non-diabetic elderly controls (39 patients of mean age 74.5 ±7.7 years). The patients underwent psychometric testings by using the following methods: mini mental state examination (MMSE), geriatric depression scale (GDS), activity of daily living (ADL), instrumental activity of daily living (IADL); attentional matrix test (AMT), visuo-spatial span test (VSST) and verbal span test (VST). The results indicate that diabetes is apparently not influencing the cognitive performance. As regards the affective disorders, the late onset elderly diabetics display more depressive disorders than the other 2 groups of patients studied.