Exploring the Relationship between Balance and Cognition in Middle-Aged Individuals with Diabetes and Hypertension: A Cross-sectional Study

Background: Diabetes and hypertension are commonly occurring non-communicablediseases across the world. India is known as the diabetescapital of the world since more than 62 million individuals are presentlysuffering from diabetes. The risk of dementia increases in individualswith type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). Similarly, in individuals withhypertension (HTN), there is an increased risk of balance impairmentdue to reduced sensory inputs from peripheral nerves to the CNS. Thisstudy has been taken up to evaluate the correlation between balanceand cognition in the adult Indian population suffering from diabetesand hypertension using the Berg Balance and Montreal CognitiveAssessment scale.Method: Two hundred and ninety-eight middle-aged individuals werescreened for hypertension and/ or diabetes mellitus for this crosssectionalstudy. Each subject was assessed for balance and cognitionusing the Berg Balance Scale and Montreal Cognitive Assessment scalerespectively. The data that were obtained were tabulated and analysed.Result: The Pearson correlation analysis suggested a negative correlationbetween diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and cognition (r = -0.267; p =0.020) indicating that higher DBP causes cognition to deteriorate inhypertensive patients. It was seen that an increase in systolic bloodpressure correlated with a decline in cognitive ability among diabeticpeople.Conclusion: Hypertension with increased diastolic pressure resultsin detrimental cognitive decline. No correlation was found betweensystolic blood pressure (SBP), DBP and balance. An increase in theglycaemic level affects cognitive ability and increases the risk of falls. How to cite this article:Kumar S, Chitra J, Fernandes J, Shetty A, Nale A,George CM, Yadav N. Exploring the Relationshipbetween Balance and Cognition in Middle-AgedIndividuals with Diabetes and Hypertension: ACross-sectional Study. Chettinad Health City MedJ. 2023;12(3):56-61. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24321/2278.2044.202352