People who develop prediabetes at a young age have a higher risk of dementia later in life, according to a new scientific study, as do millions of Americans under the age of 60 with diabetes. are victims of
Prediabetes is a condition in which blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not high enough for the patient to be called diabetes.
“Prediabetes is associated with an increased risk of dementia, but the risk is explained by the development of diabetes,” said epidemiology professor Elizabeth Selvin and doctoral student Jiaqi Hu in a statement.
The study, published in Diabetologia, analyzed data on atherosclerosis risk in communities.
Participants aged between 45 and 64 were enrolled in four US counties: Forsyth County, North Carolina; Jackson, Mississippi; suburbs of Minneapolis; and Washington County, Maryland.
It found that people who developed type 2 diabetes before the age of 60 had three times the risk of developing dementia in later years than those who did not develop type 2 before the age of 60. There was no diabetes.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that approximately 5.8 million people in the United States have Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Although the exact link between diabetes and dementia is unknown, research suggests there are several possible pathways.
Recent research also highlights that if prediabetes turns into type 2 diabetes between the ages of 60 and 69, the risk is reduced, but only by a few points.
“We all have temporary spikes in blood glucose. It goes up, then down,” said Dr. Andrew Freeman, director of cardiovascular prevention and wellness at National Jewish Health in Denver. He was not involved in the research.
Freeman said: “But if you look at the ‘glucose years’ of how high your glucose is and for how long, you start to see a cumulative loss.
The study also found that if a person is not diagnosed with type 2 diabetes until their 70s, the risk of dementia drops by 23%. And if a person developed type 2 diabetes in their 80s or 90s, their risk was no higher than that of people without diabetes.
Salon said CNN: “Pre-diabetes had a strong association with dementia but this association was only present in people who had diabetes. This finding suggests that preventing the progression from pre-diabetes to diabetes may help prevent dementia in older age.” can be found.”
Dr. Richard Isaacson, a preventive neurologist and Alzheimer’s researcher at Florida’s Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases, said the findings were not shocking.
“I’ve been shouting this from the rooftops for over a decade.”
“If this study gets people to act when diagnosed with ‘borderline diabetes’ or pre-diabetes, it will certainly improve mental health outcomes.”
Risk factors for prediabetes
Pre-diabetes is considered a silent predator, developing and progressing without any obvious symptoms. However, there are risk factors.
If you are obese or overweight, have a higher risk of developing prediabetes, or if you are over 44, exercise less than three times a week, have a parent or sibling with type 2 diabetes Have gestational diabetes or have given birth to a baby weighing more than 9 pounds (4 kg), according to the CDC.
The US Preventive Services Task Force recommends that all adults between the ages of 35 and 70, who are considered clinically overweight or obese, be screened for prediabetes or diabetes.
If blood sugar is high, losing weight, getting adequate exercise, making healthy food choices and avoiding processed and ultra-processed foods can reduce the risk.