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Diabetes doubles Alzheimer's risk

Posted on: Wednesday, 28 January 2009, 17:30 CST

A study of twins in Sweden found diabetes significantly increases risk for Alzheimer's disease and dementia, researchers said.

Study leader Dr. Margaret Gatz of the University of Southern California and the Karolinska Institute in Sweden said getting diabetes before age 65 more than doubles risk for Alzheimer's disease.

The study, published in the journal Diabetes, found that getting diabetes before the age of 65 corresponds to a 125 percent increased risk for Alzheimer's disease.

Diabetes usually appears at a younger age than dementia does, the researchers noted. In addition, about 30 percent of older adults with diabetes have not been diagnosed.

The sample for the study was 13,693 Swedish twins age 65 or older in 1998, the year tracking for dementia began. Information about diabetes came from prior surveys of twins and linkage to hospital discharge registry data beginning in the 1960s, Gatz said.

The results of the study implicate adult choices such as exercise, diet and smoking, as well as glycemic control in patients with diabetes, in affecting risk for Alzheimer's disease and diabetes, the researchers said.

Source: United Press International

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