The co-occurrence of depressive symptoms and cognitive impairment and its relationship with self-care behaviors among community dwelling older adults with diabetes

Our results illustrate the high prevalence of combined depressive symptoms and cognitive impairment and that this combination is associated with worse self-care behaviors in older adults with diabetes. These findings highlight the difficulty that some older adults with diabetes may have in maintaining self-care behaviors in the presence of depressed mood and cognitive impairment, particularly in the areas of diet and exercise. The results emphasize the importance of providing more support for these aspects of self-care to such older adults.