Scoping review of dementia and diabetes co-morbidity care

Diabetes mellitus is a common co-morbidity with dementia. Diabetes is usually a self-managed condition requiring an individual to have a high level of cognitive functioning; hence dementia makes managing diabetes very challenging for the individual with dementia and their caregivers. The purpose of this literature review was to synthesise what is currently known about diabetes and dementia co-morbidity care outcomes.

Online databases (AMED, CINAHL, PROQUEST, EBM Reviews, TRIP, Medline and PsycINFO) were searched for the period 2012 – 2023, from which we selected 27 publications. Of the 27 publications 8 were literature reviews/expert discussion of the literature, 1 audit, 1 case report, 5 cohort studies, 2 cross sectional studies, 4 mixed methods studies, 2 realist reviews, 1 longitudinal observation study and 3 qualitative studies. Selected literature was from the UK, USA, Canada, Japan, Austria, Germany, France and Poland. Five themes permeated this literature: key principles of care, challenges of diabetes management as a consequence of dementia, complexity of care, quality of care and workforce issues. This review highlights the complexity of care for those with co-morbid diabetes and dementia, which are both progressive diseases which change over time. There is a need to develop the underpinning evidence base in order to provide guidelines for best practice, to support staff to deliver appropriate care to people living with this co-morbidity.