Detection of audio-visual reaction rates in individuals with TYPE 2 diabetes mellitus

The aim of our study is to examine the effect of long-term damage to peripheral nerves by chronic hyperglycemia on reaction rates in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (DM) patients. A total of 128 volunteers, 64 of whom were Type 2 DM patients and 64 healthy controls, participated in our study. The patients consisted of volunteers with a diagnosis of Type 2 DM who were followed up in the Baskent Hospital Endocrine Polyclinic. Attention was paid to ensure that the subjects were right-handed due to the dominant hemisphere, did not have color blindness, did not have a disease that would affect neurological functions, and did not use drugs, alcohol, drugs, etc. that could affect these functions. Before the test, the blood sugars of the subjects were measured, after the voluntary consent form was signed, Finger Tapping (FT), visual and finally auditory reaction test were applied. The data were automatically saved to the excel program and then analyzed with SPSS. Kruskall Wallis and Mann Whitney U tests were used for analysis. P<0.05 was considered significant. A significant decrease was observed in reaction rates as age and HbA1c values increased in diabetics. However, there was no significant relationship between gender and fasting blood glucose (FBG) and reaction rates. At the same time, in comparison with the diabetes and control groups, prolonged reaction times were found in the experimental group compared to the control group in each test for the 18-34 age group and only in the visual reaction test for the 35-49 age group. In conclusion, it is thought that chronic hyperglycemia may negatively affect cognitive performance and reaction rates in the long term by causing peripheral nerve damage. Therefore, the importance of lifestyle changes can be emphasized to ensure glucose control before and during the disease. Key Words: Diabetes, cognitive function, reaction time, hyperglycemia, neuropathy This study was approved by Başkent University Medical and Health Sciences Research Board and Ethics Committee. (Project no: KA21/245, decision number: 21/96 decision date: 26.05.