Further correlation analyses, adjusted for age, gender, education, prevalence of hypertension, and duration of DM, indicated that elevated Gal-3 levels were associated with poorer cognitive performance, as evidenced by lower scores on neuropsychometric tests (MOCA, MMSE, DST) and higher TMTB scores, which reflect diminished global cognitive and executive functions. The gene discussed is LGALS3; the disease is hypertensive disorder.