Session Information
Date: Wednesday, June 7, 2017
Session Title: Parkinson's Disease: Cognition
Session Time: 1:15pm-2:45pm
Location: Exhibit Hall C
Objective: To determine the risk of cognitive impairment in individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and diabetes.
Background: Diabetes is associated with risk of cognitive impairment in elderly individuals. Recent research has suggested a possible link between metabolic processes in diabetes and Parkinson’s disease.
Methods: Using data from the National Parkinson Foundation’s Quality Improvement Initiative (NPF-QII), a longitudinal outcomes study of subjects managed in an expert care setting without exclusions, and with well-controlled diabetes (i.e., asymptomatic) were compared with a control group without comorbidities. There are 2058 individuals without comorbidities and 85 individuals reporting asymptomatic diabetes in the cohort. The groups were compared through the computation of a weighted average matching the frequency of subjects by age and duration after adjusting for sex and body mass index (BMI). For contrast, the analysis was repeated considering other comorbid conditions: arthritis, cancer, other neurological conditions, and respiratory illness. Outcomes for the diabetes and control group were compared using a previously described subset of the MoCA for cognition and also HRQL (PDQ-39), mobility (timed up-and-go), falls, hospitalizations, and caregiver strain. Significance was determined by p < 0.01.
Results: The diabetes group was found to have significantly worse cognition (p = 0.0007) than the control group, with mean cognitive scores in the diabetes group 0.34 SD lower than the group lacking comorbidities. No other outcome was significant. No other comorbidity considered significantly impacted cognition; however, there was an effect on HRQL, mobility, and hospitalization rates. Based on these results, a 65 year old individual with a 5 year history of PD and diabetes had a 53% increased risk of cognitive impairment when compared to a diabetes free PD patient.
Conclusions: Individuals with PD and diabetes should be carefully evaluated for cognitive impairment and further study of this group could provide insight into optimal care.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
P. Schmidt, F. Cubillos, K. Lyons, C. Marras, T. Davis, E. Nelson, M. Okun. Higher risk of cognitive impairment in Parkinson’s disease with comorbid diabetes [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2017; 32 (suppl 2). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/higher-risk-of-cognitive-impairment-in-parkinsons-disease-with-comorbid-diabetes/. Accessed June 14, 2025.« Back to 2017 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/higher-risk-of-cognitive-impairment-in-parkinsons-disease-with-comorbid-diabetes/