Paper
Thursday, 20 July 2006
Cognitive Function of Diabetes Mellitus 2 Mexican Patients in Comparison to Non-Diabetic
Bertha Cecilia Salazar, PhD1, Esther C. Gallegos, PhD2, Barbara Therrien, PhD, RN, FAAN3, and Bonnie L. Metzger, RN, PhD, FAAN3. (1) Secretaria de Investigacion, Nursing College, Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Monterrey, Mexico, (2) Nursing Graduate School, Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Monterrey, Mexico, (3) School of Nursing, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| Learning Objective #1: Know differences on tests of cognitive function of Diabetes Mellitus 2 participants in comparison to non diabetic participants. |
| Learning Objective #2: Anticipate type of intervention strategies, based on findings of cognitive functioning of DM2 patients |
Diabetic patients often receive training to manage their diabetes, but still remain hyperglycemic. The abilities to learn, problem solving, and decision making are critical aspects of the self-care of patients with diabetes. Attention and memory are some underlying abilities. Various authors have reported that cognitive functions are altered by abnormal levels of glucose due to DM2. A possible explanation for the bad self-care may be the hyperglycemia. The purpose of this pilot study was to test the cognitive performance of two groups matched by age, gender, and education; one of diabetic and the other of healthy participants. The Mini-mental State Examination was used as screening test. Three cognitive tests were applied to 80 subjects (40 with DM2; 40 healthy): (a) Digit Span Forward (DSF)-Backward (DSB); (b) Trail Making parts A and B (TMT); and (c) The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST).The main analysis was performed using a Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test, controlling for gender, years of school, and age. The results showed differences on DSF (Z = -2.31, p .021), TMT (Z = -1.92, p .055) and the Learning to Learn category of the WCST (Z = -3.05, p .002). Healthy participants showed better performance. Within the DM2 group, years of having been diagnosed was correlated to DSB (rs = -.337, p = .031); and to TMT (rs = -.508, p .001), and Learning to learn (rs -.328, p = .041). Also the age was correlated to DSF (rs = -398, p = .01), and to TMT (rs = - .605, p = < .001), and to Learning to learn (rs = -.420, p = .008).
Patients with diabetes mellitus 2 showed less ability to learn, in comparison to non diabetic participants, suggesting they require creative and thoughtful nursing educational interventions directed to their self-care.
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