Dementia Risks Increase with High Blood Sugar Levels
Blood sugar levels that measure higher than normal, even without developing into full-blown diabetes, may put people at an increased risk for developing dementia, cites a new study published in the recent issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
The study looked at more than two thousand subjects aged 65 and older who did not have dementia at the onset of the study. The researchers measured the subjects’ glucose levels over the span of nearly seven years.
Among the findings, the researchers noted that participants who had diabetes showed a 40 percent increased risk of developing dementia, compared with subjects who had lower glycated hemoglobin and blood glucose levels (160 mg/dl compared with 190 mg/dl). Also of note was the discovery that the risk of developing dementia was almost 20 percent higher in people without diabetes, but who had a blood glucose level of 115 mg/dl versus those with blood glucose levels of 100 mg/dl.
Medical News Today reports that Dr. Paul Crane, an associate professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine, said: “The most interesting finding was that every incrementally higher glucose level was associated with a higher risk of dementia in people who did not have diabetes. There was no threshold value for lower glucose values where risk leveled off.”
The study holds significant weight, cites the researchers, because it was based on the Adult Changes in Thought (ACT) long-term study that follows people throughout the course of their lives.
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