Correlações entre triagem cognitiva (Mini-Cog) na execução da marcha e no equilíbrio em pacientes idosos com diabetes

Abstract

Introduction: The aging process occurs through changes throughout life. Diabetes Mellitus (DM) has as associated complications, the worsening of gait performance and postural balance, linked to neuronal damage, increasing the risk of cognitive decline. Objectives: To correlate the cognitive performance of elderly diabetics with static balance and gait performance. Methodology: This is an observational cross-sectional analytical study, carried out with 31 Hispanic elderly residents in Miami - Florida, diagnosed with type 2 DM. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected, such as: anthropometric data, glycemic indexes, history of falls through the FES-I scale, cognitive screening through the mini-cog, gait execution through the GAITRite system and static balance through the mobile force platform. Such data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences – SPSS, adopting a significance level of p< 0.05. Results: Of the 31 participants, 25 (80.64%) were female, aged 78 ± 6.7 years. For static balance, the results found were not statistically relevant. For dynamic balance there was a moderate positive correlation between cognitive performance with right (p<0.05, r = 0.406) and left (p<0.05, r = 0.403) step length and a moderate negative correlation with time support on the right side (p<0.05, r = -0.435). Conclusion: It is suggested that changes in the gait of elderly diabetic patients may be related to their cognitive level, however, we did not obtain significantly relevant results with regard to static balance.