Mild cognitive impairment among patients with diabetes in Tabuk City, the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its relation to glycaemic control: A case-control study

Background There is an increasing awareness regarding the interaction between diabetes mellitus and mild cognitive impairment (MCI), no researchers have assessed mild cognitive impairment among patients with diabetes in Saudi Arabia. Aims The current study aimed to assess mild cognitive impairment among patients with diabetes mellitus in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. Methods A case-control study was conducted among 106 patients with diabetes mellitus, and 96 control subjects attending a diabetes center in Tabuk City, Saudi Arabia during the period from December 2018 to September 2019. The participants were invited to sign a written informed consent and then interviewed using a questionnaire based on the Montreal Cognitive assessment, demographic data, and cardiovascular risk factors. The ethical committee of the University of Tabuk approved the research and the Statistical Package for Social Sciences was used for data analysis. A P-value of <0.05 was considered significant. Results There were 106 patients with diabetes mellitus and 96 control subjects matched for age and sex. MCI was evident in 50.9 per cent of patients with diabetes vs. 8.9 per cent of control subjects with a highly significant statistical difference (P<001, 95C1, 3.33-33.93), hypertension, overweight/obesity, coronary artery disease, and dyslipidaemia were commoner among patient with diabetes compared to their counterparts. A positive correlation was observed between mild cognitive impairment and hypertension (P<0.05, Wald, 7.649, 95 per cent CI, 018.506). No correlation was found between MCI, duration of diabetes, and other cardiovascular risk factors. Conclusion More than half of patients with diabetes in Tabuk City had MCI and is correlated with hypertension. Raising awareness about the effects of high blood pressure on cognitive function is needed.