Independent and interactive effect of type 2 diabetes and hypertension on memory functions in middle aged adults

BACKGROUND: The study distinguishes the effect of type 2 diabetes and hypertension on cognitive functions when the two diseases are alone or when they occur together, compared to healthy individuals. METHODS: A total of 143 middle-aged adults were screened using the Wechsler Memory Scale – Revised psychometric test (verbal memory, visual memory, attention/concentration and delayed memory). Participants were divided into four groups based on their diseases: patients with type 2 diabetes (36), patients with hypertension (30), patients having both diseases (33), and healthy controls (44). RESULTS: This study found no differences among investigated groups in verbal and visual memory, however, hypertension and both-disease group performed unfavorably compared to patients with diabetes and to healthy individuals in attention/concentration and delayed memory. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study suggest that there is a relationship between hypertension and cognitive dysfunction, whereas type 2 diabetes without consequences was not proved to have an association with cognitive decline in middle-aged people.