Insulin resistance and executive dysfunction in older persons.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:

To evaluate the association between insulin resistance (IR) and executive dysfunction in a large, population-based study of older persons without diabetes mellitus (DM) or dementia.

DESIGN:

Cross-sectional study.

SETTING:

Outpatient clinic in Greve in Chianti and Bagno a Ripoli, Italy.

PARTICIPANTS:

A total of 597 subjects aged 65 to 93 without DM or dementia.

MEASUREMENTS:

Anthropometric measurements; plasma fasting levels of glucose, insulin, cholesterol (total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol), and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1); homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) to estimate degree of IR; Trail Making Test (TMT) A; TMT-B; TMT-B minus TMT-A (DIFF B-A); and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE).

RESULTS:

IR (HOMA) was associated with longer TMT-B (correlation coefficient (r)=0.11; P=.006) and DIFF B-A times (r=0.10; P=.022). Subjects in the upper tertile of IR were older and had longer TMT-B and DIFF B-A than participants in the lowest tertile. After adjusting for age, sex, and years of formal education, IR was significantly correlated with TMT-A, TMT-B, and DIFF B-A. After adjusting for age, sex, education, body mass index, waist:hip girth ratio, HDL-C, triglycerides, IGF-1, hypertension, drug intake, and physical activity, the results did not significantly change. After introducing MMSE score into the model, IR continued to be an independent determinant of TMT-A (beta=11.005; P=.021), TMT-B (beta=28.379; P<.001), and DIFF B-A (beta=17.374; P=.011).

CONCLUSION:

IR is independently associated with frontal cortex function evidenced by poor TMT times in older persons without DM or dementia.

• Authors: Angela M Abbatecola, Giuseppe Paolisso, Marco Lamponi, Stefania Bandinelli, Fulvio Lauretani, Lenore Launer, Luigi Ferrucci
• Journal: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (J Am Geriatr Soc) Vol. 52 Issue 10 Pg. 1713-8 (Oct 2004) ISSN: 0002-8614 [Print] United States
• PMID: 15450050 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Blood Glucose

Topics

• Adult
• Aged
• Aging (metabolism)
• Blood Glucose
• Cognition
• Cross-Sectional Studies
• Dementia (diagnosis)
• Female
• Geriatric Assessment (methods)
• Homeostasis
• Humans
• Insulin Resistance
• Italy
• Linear Models
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Trail Making Test