People with type 1 diabetes are almost three times more likely to develop it, a new study has found. dementia like those without diabetes.
“We’ve known that type 2 diabetes is associated with an increased risk of dementia,” said study author Jennifer Weuw, a professor of epidemiology at Boston University School of Public Health, “but this new study shows that, unfortunately, the association may be even stronger for people with type 1 diabetes.”
Published yesterday in the journal Neurology, paper analyzed a sample of 283,772 US adults aged 50 and over.
A total of 5,442 of them had type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune form of the disease that prevents the body from producing the insulin it needs to process sugar; 51,511 had type 2 diabetes, a common metabolic disease that causes the body’s muscle, liver and fat cells to stop producing insulin.
However, the exact causes of type 1 diabetes are unknown genetics and environmental triggers such as viruses are likely play a role. Type 2 diabetes may also have a genetic component, but it is strongly associated with lifestyle factors dietexercise and chronic stress.
Three times more likely to develop dementia
The study followed participants for an average of 2.4 years. During that time, 2,348 of them developed dementia: 0.6% of the group without diabetes, 1.8% of the group with type 2 diabetes, and a staggering 2.6% of the group with type 1 diabetes.
After taking into account other risk factors such as age and education level (higher education with delayed onset dementia), the researchers estimated that participants with type 2 diabetes were twice as likely to develop dementia as those without diabetes. On the other hand, participants with type 1 diabetes were almost three times more likely.
The results were similar regardless sex or ethnic. 56.7% of the study group identified as female, 60.3% as non-Hispanic white, and 13.3% as Hispanic or Latino.
A healthy age for people with type 1 diabetes
The study has limitations. Because it is based on electronic health records and survey data, some diagnoses may have been missed or some participants may have been misdiagnosed with diabetes.
However, it replicates the findings Swedish studies published last year showed that people with type 1 diabetes were twice as likely to develop dementia as people without the disease. This study followed its participants for about 14 years.
No research proves that diabetes causes dementia. They only make a connection between these two diseases. But they add evidence to the theory that certain forms of dementia may share basic biological mechanisms with diabetes.
It is sometimes called Alzheimer’s disease “Type 3 diabetes” based on the hypothesis that Alzheimer’s disease is caused by insulin resistance in the brain. The classification of Alzheimer’s as “type 3 diabetes” is still highly controversial, and many diabetics never develop dementia.
The researchers hope that their work will inspire further research so that people with diabetes can live longer and healthier lives.
“For the growing number of people with type 1 diabetes over the age of 65,” says Wev, “these findings highlight the urgency of understanding the ways in which type 1 diabetes affects the risk of dementia and how we can prevent or delay it.”
