scholarly journals COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN COUPLES AND COLLABORATIVE INVOLVEMENT IN TYPE 1 DIABETES MANAGEMENT

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S259-S259
Author(s):  
Cynthia Berg ◽  
Yana Suchy ◽  
Nancy Allen ◽  
Rob Kent de Grey ◽  
MaryJane Campbell ◽  
...  

Abstract Managing type 1 diabetes involves coordinating complex daily behaviors that benefit from higher cognitive function. One’s spouse’s cognitive function may also be beneficial as spouses may collaborate in daily adherence behaviors and may be especially beneficial for older adults who may be experiencing poorer cognitive function. We examined: 1) whether one’s own and one’s spouse’s cognitive function predicted lower (better) HbA1c, 2) whether collaborating with a more cognitively capable spouse was especially beneficial, and 3) whether the benefit of partners’ cognitive ability occurred through better adherence. 199 couples were recruited where one member was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes for at least one year (52% females, average age 46.8 years, range 25.9-74.9, average duration of diabetes 27 years). Both patients and spouses completed the information subtest from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Fourth Addition as a measure of general intelligence. Patients rated the collaborative involvement of their spouse in their diabetes and their adherence to their medical regimen. Multiple regressions revealed that spouse’ higher intelligence uniquely and solely predicted better HbA1c over patient’s intelligence. Collaborating with a spouse of lower intelligence was associated with higher HbA1c for older adults; collaborating with a spouse of higher intelligence was associated with somewhat lower HbA1c. Mediational analyses indicated that spouse’s intelligence was associated with higher HbA1c through better adherence behaviors. The results suggest that individuals with type 1 diabetes who have a spouse of lower cognitive function may benefit from support from others in their network to manage their diabetes.

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larry E. Humes

Many older adults have difficulty understanding speech in noisy backgrounds. In this study, we examined peripheral auditory, higher-level auditory, and cognitive factors that may contribute to such difficulties. A convenience sample of 137 volunteer older adults, 90 women, and 47 men, ranging in age from 47 to 94 years (M = 69.2 and SD = 10.1 years) completed a large battery of tests. Auditory tests included measures of pure-tone threshold, clinical and psychophysical, as well as two measures of gap-detection threshold and four measures of temporal-order identification. The latter included two monaural and two dichotic listening conditions. In addition, cognition was assessed using the complete Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-3rd Edition (WAIS-III). Two monaural measures of speech-recognition threshold (SRT) in noise, the QuickSIN, and the WIN, were obtained from each ear at relatively high presentation levels of 93 or 103 dB SPL to minimize audibility concerns. Group data, both aggregate and by age decade, were evaluated initially to allow comparison to data in the literature. Next, following the application of principal-components factor analysis for data reduction, individual differences in speech-recognition-in-noise performance were examined using multiple-linear-regression analyses. Excellent fits were obtained, accounting for 60–77% of the total variance, with most accounted for by the audibility of the speech and noise stimuli and the severity of hearing loss with the balance primarily associated with cognitive function.


Circulation ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 141 (Suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary E Lacy ◽  
Paola Gilsanz ◽  
Chloe Eng ◽  
Michal S Beeri ◽  
Andrew J Karter ◽  
...  

Introduction: Studies have shown poorer cognitive function in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D) as compared to non-diabetic peers. However, little is known about cognitive function in older adults with T1D. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that older adults with T1D and type 2 diabetes (T2D) would have greater cognitive impairment than age, sex, race/ethnicity, and education-matched controls without diabetes. Methods: We compared baseline cognitive impairment among older adults (aged ≥60) from the Study of Longevity in Diabetes (SOLID) with T1D (n=771), T2D (=234) and no diabetes (n=253). Cognitive tests assessed three cognitive domains identified via factor analysis (language, executive function, episodic memory). All cognitive test scores were standardized and cognitive impairment was defined as 1.5 SD below the mean. In logistic regression models adjusted for age, sex, education, and race/ethnicity, we examined the association between diabetes status (T1D, T2D or no diabetes) and cognition on each cognitive domain and on global cognition (average of scores on the 3 domains). Results: In adjusted regression models, compared to older adults without diabetes, those with T1D were more likely to have impaired cognitive function on the language (OR=2.13, 95% CI: 1.08, 4.17) and executive function domains (OR=2.66, 95% CI: 1.36, 5.22). No significant differences in global cognitive impairment or impairment on the episodic memory domain were observed for T1D and no significant differences on any domain were observed for T2D. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that older adults with T1D have greater cognitive impairment than their peers without diabetes; findings were specific to the language and executive function domains, with episodic memory being unaffected. No increase in cognitive impairment was observed for older adults with T2D. Additional research is needed to understand the causes and potentially modifiable factors associated with impaired cognition among older adults with T1D.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. e001173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary E Lacy ◽  
Paola Gilsanz ◽  
Chloe W Eng ◽  
Michal S Beeri ◽  
Andrew J Karter ◽  
...  

IntroductionDiabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a serious complication of diabetes. DKA is associated with poorer cognition in children with type 1 diabetes (T1D), but whether this is the case in older adults with T1D is unknown. Given the increasing life expectancy in T1D, understanding the role of DKA on brain health in older adults is crucial.Research design and methodsWe examined the association of DKA with cognitive function in 714 older adults with T1D from the Study of Longevity in Diabetes. Participants self-reported lifetime exposure to DKA resulting in hospitalization; DKA was categorized into 0 hospitalization, 1 hospitalization or ≥2 hospitalizations (recurrent DKA). Global and domain-specific cognition (language, executive function/psychomotor speed, episodic memory and simple attention) were assessed. The association of DKA with cognitive function was evaluated via linear and logistic regression models.ResultsTwenty-eight percent of participants (mean age=67 years; mean age at diagnosis=28 years; average duration of diabetes=39 years) reported a lifetime history of DKA resulting in hospitalization (18.5% single DKA; 9.7% recurrent DKA). In fully adjusted models, those with recurrent DKA had lower global cognitive function (β=−0.13; 95% CI −0.22 to 0.02) and lower scores on the executive function/psychomotor speed domain (β=−0.34; 95% CI −0.51 to 0.17). Individuals with recurrent DKA were also more likely to have the lowest level of cognitive function on the executive function/psychomotor speed domain (defined as 1.5 SD below the population mean; OR=3.26, 95% CI 1.43 to 7.42).ConclusionsAmong 714 older adults with T1D, recurrent DKA was associated with lower global cognitive function, lower scores on the executive function/psychomotor speed domain and 3.3 times greater risk of having the lowest level of cognitive function in our sample on the executive function/psychomotor speed domain. These findings suggest that recurrent DKA may negatively impact the brain health of older patients with T1D and highlight the importance of DKA prevention.


1984 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 951-956 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan L. Rogers ◽  
David Osborne

Performances on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) and the WAIS-Revised (WAIS-R) were compared between groups at different ages. We studied 176 subjects (primarily outpatients) who were referred for assessment of cognitive function. Although all age groups tended to obtain lower scores on the WAIS-R, older subjects were penalized more on Performance and Full Scale IQs when the revised form was used. However, interactions suggest that differences in the scores on the WAIS and WAIS-R in a clinical population may reflect an interaction among age, presenting complaint, and other factors.


2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 453-466 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sommer R. Thorgusen ◽  
Yana Suchy ◽  
Gordon J. Chelune ◽  
Brian R. Baucom

AbstractAlthough cognitive decline is typically associated with decreasing practice effects (PEs) (presumably due to declining memory), some studies show increased PEs with declines in cognition. One explanation for these inconsistencies is that PEs reflect not only memory, but also rebounds from adapting to task novelty (i.e., novelty effect), leading to increased PEs. We examined a theoretical model of relationships among novelty effects, memory, cognitive decline, and within-session PEs. Sixty-six older adults ranging from normal to severely impaired completed measures of memory, novelty effects, and two trials each of Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, 4thEdition Symbol Search and Coding. Interrelationships among variables were examined using regression analyses. PEs for Symbol Search and Coding (a) were related to different proposed PE components (i.e., memory and novelty effects), such that novelty effect predicted Symbol Search PE (R2=.239, p<.001) and memory predicted Coding PE (R2=.089, p=.015), and (b) showed different patterns across stages of cognitive decline, such that the greatest cognitive decline was associated with smallest Coding PE (R2=.125, p=.004), whereas intermediate cognitive decline was associated with the greatest Symbol Search PE (R2=.097, p=.040). The relationship between cognitive decline and PE for Symbol Search was partially mediated by novelty effect among older adults with abnormal cognitive decline (model R2=.286, p<.001). These findings (a) suggest that PE is not a unitary construct, (b) offer an explanation for contradictory findings in the literature, and (c) highlight the need for a better understanding of component processes of PE across different neuropsychological measures. (JINS, 2016, 22, 453–466)


2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 94-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larry E. Humes

Purpose The purpose of this article was to examine the effects of age on (a) various psychophysical measures of threshold sensitivity and temporal processing in hearing, vision, and touch and (b) measures of cognitive processing as assessed by the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale–Third Edition (Wechsler, 1997). Method Age group differences and correlations with age were examined, as were associations among age, sensory processing, and cognition. Results The group analyses showed significant differences on most sensory and cognitive measures such that middle-aged adults performed significantly worse than young adults and significantly better than older adults. Correlations of performance with age were also significant when analyses were restricted to just the young and middle-aged adults. Last, sensory processing, but not age, was significantly correlated with cognitive processing when analyses were restricted to just the young and middle-aged adults. Conclusion Middle-aged adults experienced declines in both sensory and cognitive processing. The declines in both the cognitive and sensory domains were such that, for most measures in each domain, the performance of middle-aged adults fell somewhere between that of young and older adults.


Diabetes Care ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 541-548 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary E. Lacy ◽  
Paola Gilsanz ◽  
Chloe Eng ◽  
Michal S. Beeri ◽  
Andrew J. Karter ◽  
...  

Assessment ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 411-416 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Schretlen ◽  
Robert J. Ivnik

Concurrent validity of a seven-subtest short form (7SF) of the revised edition of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-R) was examined in 733 cognitively normal adults between 56 and 99 years of age who participated in Mayo's Older Americans Normative Studies (MOANS). Pearson correlation coefficients between actual and prorated MAYO Verbal, Performance, and Full Scale IQ scores ranged from r =. 93 to r =. 97. Actual and prorated FSIQ scores differed by 6 points or less for 98% of participants, and the observed deviations did not vary as a function of age. These results support the use of this WAIS-R short form to prorate MAYO IQ scores for older adults.


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