diabetes control type 1
diabetes, study, control, patients, cognitive, intensive, dcct, therapy, episodes, complications, type, tight, disease, blood, type 1, type 1 diabetes, 1 diabetes, blood glucose, 1, intensive therapy, events, news, research While it is most gratifying to find little evidence of a direct effect of moderately severe hypoglycemia on intelligence, diabetic patients still need to avoid hypoglycemia because very low blood sugar levels can trigger a temporary reduction in their ability to pay attention and react quickly, which may, in turn, lead to serious injuries,” said Christopher Ryan, Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Health & Community Systems at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
The researchers evaluated all of the patients using the same neuropsychological tests administered during the DCCT trial. Adjusting for age, sex, years of education, length of follow-up, and the number of cognitive tests taken, the researchers found no change in any of the eight areas examined. Higher A1C readings among patients — which indicate less, not tighter, control — were associated with a modest decline in motor speed and psychomotor efficiency, but no other cognitive domain was affected.
“The DCCT/EDIC is a study of the complications of type 1 diabetes that is entering its 23rd year and will continue through 2016. The study has been heralded for the high rate of ascertainment and the quality of the data,” said Patricia A. Cleary, M.S., who is the director of the data coordinating center for DCCT/EDIC at the Biostatistics Center of The George Washington University.
