Utilization of Frontal Assessment Battery and Executive Interview 25 in assessing for dysexecutive syndrome and its association with diabetes self-care in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

AimsExecutive function (EF) comprises a set of cognitive skills that controls the execution of complex activities. In the context of diabetes, this may include patients’ self-monitoring and daily management of their condition. We compared two different measures of EF in a population of elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and studied its relationship with diabetes self-care.MethodsFifty patients (34 males) had EF assessed using Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB) and Executive Interview 25 (EXIT25). Diabetes self-care was assessed using the Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities (SDSCA) scale. Haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), lipid levels, blood pressure and diabetes duration were recorded.ResultsThe mean age of the patients was 67.0 ± 7.5 years and mean duration of diabetes was 8.1 ± 6.4 years. Mean HbA1c was 7.0 ± 1.2%, and mean fasting plasma glucose, cholesterol and LDL-C were 7.0 ± 1.7 mM, 4.0 ± 0.9 mM and 2.1 ± 0.7 mM respectively. Mean EXIT25 score was 9.5 ± 4.6 in the range of normal EF (14% had EXIT25 score > 15, indicating impaired EF). Mean FAB score was 13.7 ± 3.3 (48% having scores < 15, indicating impaired EF), suggesting a degree of dysexecutive syndrome involving frontal lobe functions. EXIT25 score was inversely correlated with SDSCA (r = −0.3, p < 0.05) but no significant correlation between FAB and SDSCA or HbA1c, diabetes duration, lipid levels and blood pressure with EXIT25, FAB or SDCSA was found.ConclusionA substantial proportion of elderly patients with T2DM may have dysexecutive syndrome and impairment in EF may impact on self-care in this group.