The impact of Vitamin D deficency on cognitive functions in patients with Type 2 Diabetes mellitus presenting to Başkent University Ankara Hospital, Endocrinology Outpatient Clinic

Vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency is one of the major health problems in the world and in our country. This health problem, which is a common community concern, is closely associated with morbidity and mortality. After understanding the effects of vitamin D on the nervous system, dabates regarding the effects on cognitive functions has been made, which were later on subject to many scientific studies. Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a major public health concern, which affects many tissues and organs in the body and in the long term also may lead to deterioration in cognitive functions. Studies demonstrate that vitamin D deficiency is common in patients with diabetes. Recently, vitamin D effects on diabetes and cognitive functions has been the subject to a lot of major research, but studies on this issue are stil insufficient. This study investigated the effects of vitamin D deficiency in patients with Type 2 DM on cognitive functions. For this goal; 118 Type 2 DM patients with vitamin D deficieny were included as a subject group, and 118 Type 2 DM patients without vitamin D deficiency were included in the study as a control group. The cognitive functions of study groups were evaluated with Mini Mental Status Examination Test (MMSE). By this test, data were collected about the orientation, registration, attention, calculation, recall and language abilities of patients. İn conclusion; there was no significant correlation between vitamin D levels and cognitive functions of participants. Key words: Vitamin D, Diabetes Mellitus, Cognitive Impairment