Diabetes in middle age ‘doubles risk of dementia’

DEVELOPING diabetes in middle age doubles your risk of getting dementia by the age of 70, a major study has revealed.

Researchers looked at the link between dementia and type 2 diabetes, which affects more than four million Britons.

They found the earlier that individuals develop the condition, which is caused by poor diet and obesity, the greater their risk of dementia in old age.

The findings add to evidence that hundreds of thousands of middle-aged Britons could ward off dementia if they adopt a healthier lifestyle now.

The study looked at data from more than 10,000 people, who had their health monitored for 31 years. They were twice as likely to have dementia at the age of 70 if they had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes before the age of 60.

Those who were diagnosed with diabetes between the age of 60 and 64 had a 50 per cent higher risk of dementia. Meanwhile, those who got diabetes in their late sixties were 10 per cent more likely to develop severe memory loss by the age of 70.

The study also found that the earlier someone developed diabetes, the earlier they were likely to be diagnosed with dementia.

‘Every five-year earlier onset of diabetes was significantly associated with a 25 per cent higher risk of dementia,’ said the researchers at the University of Paris.

The study, published in the journal JAMA, concluded that diabetes is likely to cause more than one per cent of the 850,000 dementia cases in the UK. The findings will add to fears that Britain’s diabetes epidemic is storing up a timebomb of future health problems.

Some 4.8million people in the UK have diabetes, 90 per cent of whom have type 2, and levels have trebled over the past 25 years due to rising obesity. Type 1 diabetes is an unpreventable autoimmune disease that usually develops in childhood.

Scientists are still not sure why diabetes patients are more at risk of dementia.

High blood sugar levels, blood pressure and cholesterol in those with type 2 diabetes can damage blood vessels and lead to heart attacks and strokes.

The study authors said this blood vessel damage can lead to ‘inflammatory and immune responses’ that damage brain cells.

They also pointed out that resistance to the hormone insulin has a role in both conditions.

They concluded: ‘The pathophysiological changes in dementia unfold over a long period and how diabetes in early and midlife contributes to these processes needs further research.’

Dr Lucy Chambers of Diabetes UK, said: ‘This research… provides important new insight into the longterm impact of type 2 diabetes on brain health. We are keen to see more research, across diverse groups of people and into later life, to fully understand how age of diagnosis affects risk of dementia.

‘There are steps everyone can take to reduce individual risk of developing type 2 diabetes, such as eating a healthy, balanced diet and keeping active.’

Up to 40 per cent of dementia cases could be avoided or delayed by eating less and exercising more, a major study found last year.

‘Important new insight’