Objective: To explore the relationship between fasting plasma level of total homocysteine (tHcy) and mild cognitive impairment in senile patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Methods: A total of 88 senile type 2 diabetics with mild cognitive impairment treated at our hospital from July 2008 to November 2010 were recruited into the MCI group while 52 senile type 2 diabetics into the DNC group. And the control group was composed of 36 healthy elders. The parameters of tHcy, total glyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein-C (LDL-C), high density lipoprotein-C (HDL-C), creatinine (Cr), hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), 2 h plasma glucose (2 hPG), fasting insulin (FINS), homeostasis model of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), folic acid (FA) and vitamin B(12) (VitB(12)) were detected.
Results: The patients had a higher level of tHcy in the MCI group than those in the NCM and control groups [(11.3 ± 1.8) vs (9.8 ± 1.5) and (8.1 ± 1.1) µmol/L; P < 0.01]. ROC curve showed that tHcy level had some value of predicting the occurrence of mild cognitive impairment in senile patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (AUC 0.825, 95%CI 0.758-0.893, P < 0.01). Logistic regression analysis showed that tHcy, SBP, HbA1c, 2 h PG, FINS, LDL-C, HOMA-IR, FA and VitB(12) [OR value: 3.64, 1.68, 1.10, 1.05, 0.81, 1.42, 0.83, 0.74, 0.86 (P < 0.05 or 0.01)] were independent risk factors of mild cognitive impairment in senile diabetic patients.
Conclusion: Such factors as tHcy, SBP, HbA1c, FPG, 2 hPG, FINS, LDL-C, HOMA-IR, FA and VitB(12) induce senile patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus to suffer mild cognitive impairment. But tHcy level may play an important role in senile diabetic patients with mild cognitive impairment.