Can diabetes cause dementia?
Thirty-four million American adults have Type 2 diabetes. Now, researchers are linking the development of Type 2 diabetes to a higher risk of dementia -- for which there is no cure, no therapy, and very few pathways for prevention. Type 2 diabetes, a chronic and progressive disease, affecting up to 95% of all diabetics, can cause devastating complications. These include things like blindness, kidney damage, amputations, heart attacks, and strokes, said Dr. Richard Pratley, Diabetes Program Head at AdventHealth Translational Research Institute. Now, a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association reveals that Type 2 diabetes and the age that its developed can actually increase your risk of dementia. Oftentimes, nowadays, were diagnosing Type 2 diabetes at a very early stage, said Pratley, who was not involved in the study. Researchers calculated that for every five years earlier Type 2 diabetes onsets, the risk for dementia grows by 24%. Ad  They also found that a person age 55 to 59 with Type 2 diabetes is more than twice as likely to develop dementia than a nondiabetic of the same age. Suggesting that taking prevention steps for diabetes could also lower the risk for dementia. Doctors recommend cutting out sugar and refined carbs, drinking lots of water daily, and exercising often. For habits, experts say quit smoking if you do, and avoid chronic sedentary behaviors. The study authors say that while they have found the connection between diabetes and dementia, they still have yet to find the direct cause. They note that living a long time with diabetes and having hypoglycemic events is harmful and the neurotoxic effects should not be ignored.