Abstract MP33: Investigating the Link Between Glucose Patterns Assessed by Continuous Glucose Monitoring With Cognitive Impairment in Older Adults With Diabetes

Abstract

Introduction: There are no studies in older adults with type 2 diabetes that examine the link between day-to-day glucose patterns and cognitive dysfunction. Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) is a minimally invasive technology that can assess glucose every 1-15 minutes and characterize nuanced patterns in glucose. Hypothesis: CGM can provide a comprehensive picture of glycemic variability in people with cognitive dysfunction. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of participants with diabetes in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study (Visit 9, 2021-2022). ARIC participants wore a CGM (Abbott Libre Pro) and underwent cognitive testing in three cognitive domains (memory, executive functioning, and language). Scores were standardized and averaged to give a global cognitive z-score. We compared HbA1c and clinically used CGM parameters (mean glucose, coefficient of variation, percent time in glucose range of 70-180 mg/dL, and percent time above 180 mg/dL) across quartiles of cognitive z-scores, adjusting for age and sex. We calculated p-values for trends from linear or quantile regression treating the median of cognitive Z-score in each quartile as a continuous variable. Results: We included 383 participants with diabetes (mean age, 83 years). Across categories of cognitive functioning, participants in the lowest cognitive functioning categories had significantly higher HbA1c, glucose variability, and less percent time spent with glucose in range (70-180 mg/dl) (Figure) . There was no clear trend in CGM mean glucose (p=0.15) (Figure, Panel B) . Conclusions: Cognitive dysfunction was associated with an increased burden of glycemic dysregulation assessed through CGM and HbA1c. Our results suggest CGM may be a useful complement to HbA1c for monitoring glycemic control in this population. Figure: Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) metrics across quartiles of cognitive Z-scores in older participants with diabetes in the ARIC Study (2021-2022)