STUDY OF EFFECT OF INSULIN ON COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN DIABETES MELLITUS IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Diabetes Mellitus is a major lifestyle metabolic disorder and doubtlessly a challenging public health problem of the 21^st century. Diabetes is associated with reduced performance on various domains of cognitive function, this study was aimed to access the effect of insulin on cognitive function in patients of Diabetes Mellitus. It was a prospective, observational and non-interventional study. 60 confirmed cases of Diabetes mellitus, who were recently (within 7 days) started on insulin were enrolled as study subjects from medicine department in a random fashion. Cognitive function was assessed by Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination (ACE III) at the time of enrolment, then 1 month and 3 months of insulin treatment. The results were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) test. In results there was a significant increase in Attention, memory and visuospatial ability after one and three months, in language, there was substantial increase after one month but not after three months, and in verbal fluency, there was no significant increase after one and three months. Considering all the five domains, a total score of ACE III showed a significant increase after one and three months, suggesting some role of insulin in the improvement of cognitive function. Thus, it can be speculated that treatment with insulin improves cognitive function in patients of Diabetes Mellitus. As insulin therapy is generally lifelong, long term effects of insulin on cognitive function needs to be further evaluated.