Increased blood sugar levels increase dementia risk

Diabetes increases the likelihood of developing dementia

08/08/2013

The results of a long-term study from the US show that even an elevated level of glucose can damage the aging brain. Experts in Germany have been alarmed for some time by the strong increase in dementia patient numbers. Too high a level of blood sugar can greatly increase the risk of dementia, says physician Paul Crane of the Group Health Research Institute in Seattle, Washington, in the New England Journal of Medicine. The basis for the concern is the evaluation of data from around 2100 people over the age of 65 years. Over a period of five years, your blood sugar level was measured at an average of 17. In addition to other values, this value was especially important for physicians for conclusions about dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

For example, persons whose mean value was 190 milligrams per deciliter were up to 40 percent more at risk than diabetics whose concentration was only 160. What astonished me was that even in people without diabetes, the elevated glucose levels are associated with an increased risk of dementia. Crane said, "The most interesting finding, however, was that elevated glucose levels were associated with a higher risk of dementia in those without diabetes. „There was no threshold at lower glucose levels, from which the risk waned. "

Thus, the result gave information about the influence of the sugar value on non-diabetics. On average, people with a value of 115 milligrams per deciliter were 18 percent more at risk than people with a concentration of 100. The German Diabetes Association (DDG) considers values ​​below 100 to be normal.

Observational study confirms risk factors
However, this study should not be overemphasized, emphasizes the physician Crane. It is for the time being an observational study. "While this is interesting and important, we do not have data suggesting that lowering the level improves dementia risk." "Such data would have to be determined in future studies," he says.

For Prof. Richard Dodel, member of the German Society of Neurology and the University of Marburg, the results are more than interesting. "The effects of blood glucose in the normal range on the risk of dementia have not been investigated in a large study," says the physician, who is. Nevertheless, the study also has weaknesses. Thus, the time of day, when the blood sugar is measured also plays a role. Also whether the patient took the blood sample on an empty stomach and which other influences were taken into account.

However, this does not fundamentally change the result that general risk factors for cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension, elevated blood lipid levels or a large body mass index increase the risk of dementia. (Fr)

Picture: Gerd Altmann