Correlation Between Type 1 Diabetes Patients’ Anxiety, Depression, and Cognitive Functions as well as Duration, Complications and Glycemic Control

Author: Viktorija Černulytė Title of the paper: Correlation between type 1 diabetes patients’ anxiety, depression, and cognitive functions as well as duration, complications and glycemic control. Aim: Identify and evaluate the correlation between type 1 diabetes patients’ anxiety, depression, and cognitive functions as well as duration, complications and glycemic control. Objectives: 1. Identify and evaluate type 1 diabetes patients’ sociodemographic parameters, duration of the disease, its complications and the index of glycemia; 2. Identify and evaluate type 1 diabetes patients’ expression of anxiety and depression; 3. Identify and evaluate type 1 diabetes patients’ cognitive functions; 4. Identify and evaluate the correlation between type 1 diabetes patients’ anxiety, depression and cognitive functions as well as clinical characteristics of diabetes. Methodology: Within the period between February of 2017 and January of 2018 66 patients of type 1 diabetes treated in Hospital of Lithuanian University of Health Sciences KK, Endocrinology department were interviewed by convenience sampling. Patients’ sociodemographic and type-1 diabetes clinical data were being evaluated, namely, HAD scale was used to evaluate depression and anxiety. MMSE scale was employed for evaluation of cognitive functions. Statistical data analysis was conducted by using software SPSS 20.0. Findings: The largest group of patients (42 %) consisted of individuals aged 25-44. The smallest number, i.e. 9 % included people older than 65. More than a half of patients, which is 59 %, had had diabetes for more than 15 years. Glycosylated hemoglobin for the majority of type-1 diabetes patients (71 %) was >= 7,0 % while 94 % of all the surveyed patients were diagnosed different type-1 diabetes complications. It was defined that 81,8 % of type-1 diabetes patients had symptoms of anxiety and 51,5 % showed symptoms of depression. About 50 % of the surveyed collected less than 25 points according to MMSE scale. The average of anxiety and depression evaluation was higher among those patients who had HbA1c >= 7,0 % if compared to patients whose HbA1c was = 7,0 % in comparison to those with HbA1c = 7,0 %) 2. Three out of four type-1 diabetes patients stated that significant anxiety was common whereas every second participant mentioned significant depression. 3. Every second participant as type-1 diabetes patient had a disorder of cognitive functions. 4. Significantly higher indices of depression and anxiety as well as lower indicators of cognitive functions were identified for type-1 patients with insufficient glycemia control and 4 complications, who had had diabetes for more than 15 years. Practical recommendations: The findings of the research have shown that it is of utmost importance to study mental state and cognitive functions of type-1 diabetes patients using certain scales. (HAD, MMSE)