Introduction:

Diabetes mellitus is a frequent and systemic illness. Deleterious effects on cognition are one of its lesser known consequences. Diabetic individuals are at an increased risk for development of dementia in the future.

Objective:

To compare cognitive function in middle aged diabetic population with non-diabetic control group, in order to determine high risk population for developing cognitive decline or dementia in the future.

Methodology:

This is a cross-sectional, observational study conducted in Guayaquil. We studied 309 individuals between the ages of 55 and 65 years, of which 142 were diabetics and 167 were non-diabetic controls. A neuropsychological evaluation was performed to assess memory, attention, executive functioning and processing speed.

Results:

Group comparisons revealed significant differences between diabetics and non-diabetics in systolic blood pressure (p<.001), hyperlipidemia (p<.001) and cardiovascular risk (p < .001). Cognitive performance, after considering differences in scholarship, was lower in diabetic people (memory p values between .000 and .002; attention p values between .000 and .019; executive function p values between .000 and .001). Correlation between years of disease and cognitive decline was not significant (memory -.055; attention -.040; executive function .0169). Correlation between glycated hemoglobin and cognitive performance was significant for all evaluated functions (memory -.219; attention -.186; executive function -.269).

Conclusion:

Middle aged diabetic population has lower cognitive performance compared with non diabetics. The identification of individuals at risk for cognitive decline will contribute to the development and implementation of intervention strategies that will allow the slowing of cognitive decline in vulnerable individuals.