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Cognitive dysfunction in diabetes: how to implement emerging guidelines
Biessels GJ, Whitmer RA.. Diabetologia, 2019-08-16
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Cognitive dysfunction, including mild cognitive impairment and dementia, is increasingly recognised as an important comorbidity and complication of diabetes that affects an individual's well-being and diabetes management, and is associated with diabetes treatment-related complications. Recent guidelines therefore recommend screening for cognitive impairment in older individuals with diabetes. In addition, these guidelines suggest that glucose-lowering treatment should be tailored in those diagnosed with cognitive impairment, to reduce the risk of hypoglycaemia and improve treatment adherence. This review gives an overview of cognitive dysfunction in people with diabetes, briefly describing the clinical features of different stages of cognitive dysfunction and their epidemiology. In particular, it addresses essential additional steps that need to be taken to fully implement the emerging guidelines on screening and management of cognitive dysfunction in diabetes into daily practice.
Key findings
- Cognitive dysfunction, including mild cognitive impairment and dementia, is increasingly recognised as an important comorbidity and complication of diabetes that affects an individual's well-being and diabetes management, and is associated with diabetes treatment-related complications.
- In addition, these guidelines suggest that glucose-lowering treatment should be tailored in those diagnosed with cognitive impairment, to reduce the risk of hypoglycaemia and improve treatment adherence.
Why it matters
This review discusses guidelines recommending screening for cognitive impairment in older people with diabetes and tailoring glucose-lowering treatment to reduce hypoglycaemia and improve adherence. It is about managing diabetes care and does not show that any treatment prevents or cures Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 51/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Diabetologia) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Diabetologia: journal h-index 337 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 2 / 5 | 2020 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 309 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 38.6 citations a year over 8 year(s) since 2020 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 16.3× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 3 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 172 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Rachel A. Whitmer: h-index 63 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | University of California, Davis: institution h-index 1,257 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 31420699) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 51 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Biessels, G. J., & Whitmer, R. A. (2020). Cognitive dysfunction in diabetes: how to implement emerging guidelines. Diabetologia. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00125-019-04977-9
Vancouver
Biessels GJ, Whitmer RA. Cognitive dysfunction in diabetes: how to implement emerging guidelines. Diabetologia. 2020. doi:10.1007/s00125-019-04977-9. PMID: 31420699.
BibTeX
@article{biessels2020-31420699,
author = {Biessels, G. J. and Whitmer, R. A.},
title = {{Cognitive dysfunction in diabetes: how to implement emerging guidelines}},
journal = {Diabetologia},
year = {2020},
doi = {10.1007/s00125-019-04977-9},
pmid = {31420699},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s00125-019-04977-9}
}
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