Prediabetes: the younger you are, the higher the risk of dementia

The study, published on Wednesday in diabetes, analyzed the data from the Risk of atherosclerosis in communities study. It enrolled people between the ages of 45 and 64 in four US counties: Forsyth County, North Carolina; Jackson, Mississippi; suburb of Minneapolis; and Washington County, Maryland.

People in the study who developed type 2 diabetes before the age of 60 had three times the risk of dementia later in life than those who did not have type 2 diabetes before the age of 60. age 60, according to the study. If prediabetes progressed to type 2 diabetes between the ages of 60 and 69, the risk decreased, but only by a few points.

“We all have transient spikes in our blood sugar. It goes up, then it goes down,” said Dr. Andrew Freeman, director of cardiovascular prevention and wellness at National Jewish Health in Denver. He did not participate in the study.

“But if you look at ‘blood sugar years’ to figure out how high your blood sugar is and for how long, then you start to see cumulative damage,” Freeman said. “And the sooner you are exposed, the higher the level of cumulative damage.”

At this point, the study found that if type 2 diabetes was not diagnosed before the age of 70, the risk of dementia dropped to 23%. And if a person developed type 2 diabetes in their 80s or 90s, the risk was no greater than people without diabetes.

more than two servings of diet soda a day doubled the risk of kidney decline in women. A 2012 study suggested a possible link between diet sodas and a increased risk of vascular events. And several studies have found a link between metabolic syndrome — a kind of prediabetes — and type 2 diabetes, possibly because it alters people’s gut bacteria.
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“There was a strong association between prediabetes and dementia, but that association was only present in people who developed diabetes,” Selvin told CNN in an email. “This finding suggests that preventing the progression of prediabetes to diabetes could help prevent dementia in older adults.”

Alzheimer’s disease researcher Dr. Richard Isaacson, a preventive neurologist at the Florida Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases, said the results were not shocking.

“I’ve been shouting this from the rooftops for over a decade,” Isaacson, who wasn’t involved in the study, said via email. “If this study gets people to take action when a diagnosis of ‘borderline diabetes’ or prediabetes is made, it will definitely improve brain health outcomes.”

More than one in three American adults has prediabetes, and 80% of them don’t even know it, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Close to a a third of those are between the ages of 18 and 44 – young enough to develop a disorder that puts them at extreme risk for type 2 diabetes, significant cardiovascular problems and vascular dementia as they age.

Worse still, nearly 1 in 5 teenagers aged 12 to 18 and 1 in 4 young adults aged 19 to 34 are living with prediabetes, the CDC said.

The CDC estimates that approximately 5.8 million people in the United States have Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. And according to a study cited in a 2019 report by the Alzheimer Associationthe lifetime risk of the most common form of dementia is about 1 in 10 (10%) for men at age 45 and 1 in 5 (20%) for women.

A Meta-analysis 2013 found that type 2 diabetes is associated with a 60% increased risk of dementia from all causes. Additionally, people with dementia with type 2 diabetes have an increased risk of premature death.

Although the exact link between diabetes and dementia is not known, there are several possible pathways, according to research.

“Diabetes increases the risk of heart disease and stroke, which injures the heart and blood vessels. Damaged blood vessels in the brain may contribute to cognitive decline,” according to the Alzheimer’s Association.

Additionally, high blood sugar causes inflammation, which could damage brain cells, the association said. Even people in the early stages of type 2 diabetes show signs of brain dysfunction.

Research has shown that type 2 diabetes dramatically increases beta-amyloid protein levels in the brain, a hallmark sign of Alzheimer’s disease, the association said.

This study is not the first to find a relationship between early onset diabetes and dementia. A study 2021 in the UK found that developing diabetes more than 10 years ago increased the risk of dementia by more than 18%.

Prediabetes is known as a silent predator, developing and progressing without any obvious symptoms. However, there are risk factors.

You are at higher risk for prediabetes if you are overweight, over age 44, exercise less than three times a week, have a parent or sibling with type 2 diabetes, have had diabetes during pregnancy or have given birth to a child over 9 years old. pounds (4 kilograms), according to the CDC.

Certain groups are also at higher risk, including people who are black, Hispanic or Latino, Native American, Alaska Native, Pacific Islander or Asian American. You can filter your personal risk by Take a test offered by the National Diabetes Prevention Program.

THE US Task Force on Preventive Services recommends that all adults between the ages of 35 and 70 considered overweight or obese be screened for prediabetes or diabetes. If blood sugar levels are a concern, lose weight, exercise, eat a healthy diet, and avoid processed foods and ultra-processed foods can reduce the risk.