Impact of vascular risk factors on cognitive decline associated with diabetes mellitus

Introduction. Vascular risk factors have been associated with cognitive decline, although their simultaneous effects on cognition are unclear. The aim of our study was to examine the additional impact of some of the most important risk factors (ageing, arterial hypertension (AH), chronic ischemic heart disease (CIHD), tobacco-usage and alcohol) on cognitive functions of patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). Material and methods. We examined 115 patients (average age 62.47±10.60 years; 49 males, 66 females) with DM (mean disease duration 9.28±6.88 years), admitted between 2016-2017 in the Neurology Clinic of the University Hospital „Sofiamed“, Sofia, Bulgaria. We used the following neuropsychological battery: Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), Isaack Set Test, 10 words memory test, Digit Symbol Substitution Test, Trail Making Test A and B, Clock drawing test, Logic memory test (subscale of Wechsler memory scale IV ed.), Benton visual retention test (var. A, form E). The results were summarized in tables. All the results were analyzed in 95% confidence interval. Results. Ageing was associated with a poor cognitive performance in almost all examined cognitive domains, except MMSE. CIHD is associated with low Digit Symbol Substitution Test points and more omissions and size errors on Benton Visual Retention Test. Conclusions. Ageing is associated with decline in visual and verbal memory, executive functions and visual-spatial abilities in cases with DM. CIHD leads to additional alternating attention deficits in patients with DM. AH, tobacco-usage and mild and moderate alcohol drinking are not significantly associated with additional cognitive dysfunctions in cases with DM.