Impaired sustained attention in adult patients with type 1 diabetes is related to diabetes per se

BackgroundPatients with type 1 diabetes have altered sleep characteristics and are thought to have deficits in sustained attention. We compared the sustained attention to response task (SART) of patients with type 1 diabetes to that of healthy controls, and related results with sleep characteristics and disease-related factors. MethodsSART was applied in 122 patients and 109 controls. Glucoregulation was assessed by HbA(1c) values and a questionnaire assessing glycaemic history. Clinical parameters were obtained from medical charts. Polyneuropathy was assessed by neurological examination and quantitative sensory testing. Sleep characteristics were assessed with sleep questionnaires. Anxiety and depression scores were assessed by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. ResultsThe SART reaction time (RT) was significantly longer than in controls (3275 vs. 285 +/- 3ms, p <0.001), although there were no significant differences in error scores. Repeated measurement analyses showed that diabetes per se was associated with prolonged RT (p <0.001) and more commission errors (p=0.010). None of the sleep-related and diabetes-related factors were significantly associated with these SART parameters. ConclusionsPatients with type 1 diabetes had impaired sustained attention, which was associated with diabetes per se but not with disturbed sleep characteristics. Copyright (c) 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd