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Cognitive Performance Issues Due To Type 1 Diabetes

Different people have different IQs and different cognitive abilities. But could cognitive performance issues sometimes be associated with type 1 diabetes?

Type 1 diabetes changes the activation process of the brain of young patients and affects their performance on visuospatial working memory tasks, according to a recent study. Previous research has mainly focused on young children because it starts in most cases during childhood. Since it affects developing children, it is believed that cognitive functions can be changed at the neurodevelopment stage. According to Brands et al. (2005), people with type 1 diabetes display a reduction in mental speed as well as weakened flexibility of the brain due to cognitive dysfunction. The degree of cognitive weakness is mild to moderate, yet mild forms of cognitive dysfunction can affect daily tasks because they can lead to problems in highly demanding conditions.

The participants of the study were sampled using the inclusion method. Among them, 16 patients/participants had been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, while 16 formed control subjects who were healthy. The participants were right-handed with average IQs. According to the study, the patients went through disease evolution for four years, and the childhood period was the onset of the disease. The study did not include individuals with neurodevelopmental complications, nephropathy or other type 1 diabetes-related complications. The participants were also arranged by sex, level of education and age. There were anticipated results as the researchers noticed that there were known differences in the level of glucose. In the groups, fasting plasma glucose, as well as glycated hemoglobin, went above the control levels just as usually seen in this particular disease.

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