Does Intensive Glucose Control Prevent Cognitive Decline in Diabetes? A Meta-Analysis

Abstract EN

Diabetes mellitus is associated with cognitive decline and impaired performance in cognitive function tests among type 1 and type 2 diabetics.

Even though the use of tight glucose control has been limited by a reported higher mortality, few reports have assessed the impact of treatment intensity on cognitive function.

We conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate if an intensive glucose control in diabetes improves cognitive function, in comparison to standard therapy.

We included 7 studies that included type 1 or type 2 diabetics and used standardized tests to evaluate various cognitive function domains.

Standardized mean differences (SMDs) were calculated for each domain.

We found that type 1 diabetics get no cognitive benefit from a tight glucose control, whereas type 2 diabetics get some benefit on processing speed and executive domains but had worse performances in the memory and attention domains, along with a higher incidence of mortality when using intensive glucose control regimes.