Diabetes Linked to Dementia

People with diabetes may be at a significantly increased risk of developing cognitive disorders, including Alzheimer’s Disease.  Yutaka Kiyohara, from Kyushu University (Japan), and colleagues studied 1,017 people, ages 60 years and older, each of whom was given a glucose (sugar) tolerance test after an overnight fast to determine if they had diabetes.  Subjects were monitored for an average of 11 years and then tested for dementia. The researchers observed that people with diabetes were twice as likely to develop dementia, as compared to people with normal blood sugar levels. As well, the risk of dementia was also higher in people who did not have diabetes, but had impaired glucose tolerance, or were “pre-diabetes.” The team concludes that: “Our findings suggest that diabetes is a significant risk factor for all-cause dementia, [Alzheimer’s Disease], and probably [vascular Alzheimer’s Disease].”