Researchers from the Netherlands have added more evidence to the idea that there is a link between diabetes and a decline in cognitive function. The researchers from the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment studied 2,600 men and women between the ages of 45 and 70 who were taking part in a long-term study into the effects of lifestyle on health. 61 had type-2 (adult-onset) diabetes at the start of the study and 78 developed it over the next five years. Over a five-year period the decline in mental functioning was three times greater in the people with type-2 diabetes. Those who had had diabetes at the start of the study had the largest decline but even those who had developed it more recently showed double the risk. The drop in function occured mostly in the first five years and then levelled off suggesting that early intervention to help people control their blood sugar could be crucial to preventing cognitive decline.
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