The Cognitive Impact of Chronic Diseases on Functional Capacity in Community-Dwelling Adults.
JinShil Kim, Eunok Park, Minjeong An
PMID 29985821WHAT IT FOUND
Among 90 adults with chronic conditions, poorer memory and slower executive function were linked to lower ability to do daily physical activities.
Most differences tied to hypertension or diabetes did not remain after age, gender, and education were considered.
Key findings
01People with hypertension or diabetes showed poorer immediate and delayed memory and executive function than other chronically ill adults.
02After adjustment for age, gender, and education, most cognitive and functional differences between the groups were no longer statistically significant.
03On a functional capacity scale from 0 to 58.2, each increase in delayed recall was linked to 1.5 points higher capacity, and each 1-second decrease in executive speed to 0.2 points lower capacity.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot show whether hypertension or diabetes caused cognitive problems, whether cognitive problems caused functional limitation, or whether either changes with treatment. All participants came from one province in South Korea, so the results may not apply to other populations. The groups were uneven, with 63 participants with hypertension or diabetes and 27 without, which may reduce sensitivity to detect differences. Most differences between the groups disappeared after adjusting for age, gender, and education. Blood pressure and glucose control, and treatment for hypertension or diabetes, were not assessed, so the study could not separate the effects of the conditions from their control or treatment.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that hypertension or diabetes causes poorer cognition or function. Most differences were no longer statistically significant after adjusting for age, gender, and education, and the cross-sectional design cannot show cause.