Study Suggests Heightened Risk of Dementia in Individuals With Type 2 Diabetes Varies by Type of Dementia

An observational study presented at the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes suggests that the risk of vascular dementia is most pronounced among individuals with type 2 diabetes, reports EurekAlert . Those individuals were 36 percent more likely to develop vascular dementia and 9 percent more likely to be diagnosed with non-vascular dementia versus non-diabetics. Meanwhile, the risk of Alzheimer's disease was not higher in persons with type 2 diabetes. In comparison with type 2 diabetes patients with well controlled blood sugar, those with poor blood sugar control had nearly twice the risk of developing vascular dementia. "A 36 percent higher risk is in itself an argument for preventive measures such as healthier lifestyle," explains Professor Naveed Sattar from the University of Glasgow. "Diabetes and dementia share certain risk factors that might contribute to these associations including obesity, smoking, and lack of physical activity. The importance of prevention is underscored by the fact that, for the majority of dementia diseases, there is no good treatment." The study authors stress that while the relative risk of vascular dementia rises with type 2 diabetes, the absolute risk increase is low.