Boston : Type 2 diabetes can negatively impact a person’s cognitive and decision-making skills, and also affect their ability to perform daily activities such as cooking and bathing, a new study has found, reports PTI.
Researchers found that in just two years, people with type 2 diabetes experienced negative changes in their ability to regulate blood flow in the brain, which was associated with lower scores on tests of cognition skills and their ability to perform their daily activities.
“Normal blood flow regulation allows the brain to redistribute blood to areas of the brain that have increased activity while performing certain tasks,” said study author Vera Novak of Harvard Medical School.
“People with type 2 diabetes have impaired blood flow regulation. Our results suggest that diabetes and high blood sugar impose a chronic negative effect on cognitive and decision-making skills,” Novak said.
The study involved 40 people with an average age of 66. Of those, 19 had type 2 diabetes and 21 did not have diabetes. Those with diabetes had been treated for the disease for an average of 13 years. The participants were tested at the beginning of the study and again two years later.
Tests included cognition and memory tests, MRI scans of the brain to look at brain volume and blood flow, and blood tests to measure control of blood sugar and inflammation. After two years, the people with diabetes had decreases in their ability to regulate blood flow in the brain. They also had lower scores on several tests of memory and thinking skills.
