Abstract

FERNANDES LOPES, Regina Maria et al. Cognition and type 2 diabetes in the elderly. Ciênc. cogn. [online]. 2011, vol.16, n.3, pp. 095-108. ISSN 1806-5821.

Studies about the cognitive status in elderly people have been greater emphasis on current research, identifying damages especially when a chronic illness is present. The hyperglycemia can be a significant factor for the incidence of Alzheimer, which could be a secondary cause for dementia. Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (DM2) is associated to cognitive and functional deficits and, one of the tools, which can be used to assess executive functions, is the WCST. The objective was to measure the cognitive prejudice in older people with DM2 through the WCST. The participants of the study were two hundred and fifty four (254) old people of both genders, with 60 years of age or older, divided into 44 persons with a DM2 diagnosis and 210 old people of the control group from the general public. The design was from a quantitative and transversal study. The instruments used were: socio-demographic filing cards, WCST, MMSE, BDI, BAI, GDS. The Vocabulary, Coding, Digit Span, Block Design and WAIS - III sub-tests. The results showed a significant difference in the performance of old people with DM2, when compared to old people of the control group in four describers of the WCST, cognitive prejudice. © Cien. Cogn. 2011; Vol. 16 (3): 095-108.

Keywords : type 2 diabetes; old people; Wisconsin card sorting test (WCST); cognitive flexibility; cognitive prejudice; executive functions.

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