The relationship between insulin sensitivity, diabetes and dementia has been the subject of much recent investigation. Type-2 diabetes is associated with a higher risk of Alzheimer's disease in later life. A recent study published in JAMA has suggested that the earlier the onset of Type-2 diabetes, the greater the risk of eventually developing dementia.
A collaborative study carried out by scientists from the French Institute for Medical and Health Research (INSERM); the University of Padua, Italy; the University of Budapest, in Hungary; and the University of Maastricht, in the Netherlands, among others, concluded that Type 2 diabetes is linked to an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia later in life, and that the younger the age at which diabetes is diagnosed, the greater the risk.
The study followed 10,000 people ages 35 to 55 and concluded that for each 5 years earlier the onset of Type-2 diabetes the risk for dementia increases by 24%.
This type of observational study does not prove that Type-2 diabetes causes dementia. It is more likely that both have a common underlying cause and that insulin resistance, if not the cause itself, plays a key role. The best advice is to diagnose and treat diabetes as early as possible. When were you last tested?
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