People with "mild cognitive impairment" may have an increased risk of developing a more severe form of diabetes, it has been asserted.
A report in the August issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals, reveals that such individuals are more likely experience an earlier onset, longer duration and greater severity of diabetes.
Mild cognitive impairment occurs between the normal aging of the brain and the onset of dementia, Eurekalert notes, while lower blood glucose can lead to the loss of neurons.
Participants aged between 70 and 89 were studied by Rosebud Roberts and her colleagues at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota where they received a neurological examination, neuropsychological evaluation and tests of blood glucose levels.
It was found that those with mild cognitive impairment were at a greater risk of developing diabetes before age 65, having diabetes for 10 years or longer and suffering from complications.
In related news, a Kaiser Permanente study has revealed that those who lose weight within 18 months of being diagnosed with type-2 diabetes are twice as likely to gain control over their blood pressure and sugar levels.
