Home › Research › Disparities
Relationship Between Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Cognitive Change in a Multiethnic Elderly Cohort
Bangen KJ, Gu Y, Gross AL, Schneider BC, Skinner JC, Benitez A, Sachs BC, Shih R et al.. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2015-06-11
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Objectives To examine the association between diabetes mellitus and cognitive functioning at baseline and cognitive change over time in a large, ethnically diverse sample of older adults. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting Washington Heights-Inwood Columbia Aging Project, a community-based, prospective study of risk factors for dementia in northern Manhattan, New York City. Participants Hispanic, non-Hispanic black, and non-Hispanic white men and women aged 65 and older without dementia at baseline (N = 1,493). Measurements Participants underwent baseline and follow-up cognitive and health assessments approximately every 18 months. Generalized estimating equations were used to examine the longitudinal association between diabetes mellitus and cognition. Results Diabetes mellitus was associated with poorer baseline cognitive performance in memory, language, processing speed and executive functioning, and visuospatial abilities. After adjusting for age, education, sex, race and ethnicity, and apolipoprotein-ε4, participants with diabetes mellitus performed significantly worse at baseline than those without in language and visuospatial abilities. There were no differences between those with and without diabetes mellitus in terms of rate of cognitive change over a mean follow-up time of 6 years. Conclusion The rate of cognitive change in elderly persons with and without diabetes mellitus is similar, although cognitive performance is poorer in persons with diabetes mellitus. These findings suggest that cognitive changes may occur early during the diabetes mellitus process and highlight the need for studies to follow participants beginning at least in midlife, before the typical later-life onset of dementia.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Bangen, K. J., Gu, Y., Gross, A. L., Schneider, B. C., Skinner, J. C., Benitez, A., et al. (2015). Relationship Between Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Cognitive Change in a Multiethnic Elderly Cohort. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.13441
Vancouver
Bangen KJ, Gu Y, Gross AL, Schneider BC, Skinner JC, Benitez A, et al. Relationship Between Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Cognitive Change in a Multiethnic Elderly Cohort. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 2015. doi:10.1111/jgs.13441. PMID: 26096383.
BibTeX
@article{bangen2015-26096383,
author = {Bangen, K. J. and Gu, Y. and Gross, A. L. and Schneider, B. C. and Skinner, J. C. and Benitez, A. and Sachs, B. C. and Shih, R. and others},
title = {{Relationship Between Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Cognitive Change in a Multiethnic Elderly Cohort}},
journal = {Journal of the American Geriatrics Society},
year = {2015},
doi = {10.1111/jgs.13441},
pmid = {26096383},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.13441}
}
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
Key findings
- Results Diabetes mellitus was associated with poorer baseline cognitive performance in memory, language, processing speed and executive functioning, and visuospatial abilities.
- After adjusting for age, education, sex, race and ethnicity, and apolipoprotein-ε4, participants with diabetes mellitus performed significantly worse at baseline than those without in language and visuospatial abilities.
- These findings suggest that cognitive changes may occur early during the diabetes mellitus process and highlight the need for studies to follow participants beginning at least in midlife, before the typical later-life onset of dementia.
Why it matters
This prospective cohort study found that people with diabetes had poorer cognitive performance at baseline but no difference in rate of cognitive change over time compared with those without diabetes. It suggests diabetes is linked to lower cognitive function but does not show that treating diabetes prevents or cures Alzheimer's disease.
New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Disparities →
Study details
- Study designcohort study
- Participants1,493
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 59/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a cohort study following people over time. Scored zero for effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of the American Geriatrics Society) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Journal of the American Geriatrics Society: journal h-index 344 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 7 / 12 | A cohort study following people over time |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2015 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 3 / 4 | 1,493 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 4 / 7 | Cited 92 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 7.1 citations a year over 13 year(s) since 2015 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 7.3× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 2 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 18 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Jose Alejandro Luchsinger: h-index 78 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Johns Hopkins University: institution h-index 2,306 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 13 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 26096383) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 59 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here. Showing 12 of 13.
Later studies that cite this one
2 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references.
Related studies in Disparities
Also tagged “biobank”
1,084 studies in the library carry the topic tag “biobank”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 1,084 tagged studies.