Faster Cognitive Decline Tied to Hyperglycemia

A study published in Diabetologia suggests diabetes may accelerate cognitive decline, tying both prediabetes and diabetes to a faster rate of global cognitive decline over time in comparison with people with normoglycemia as indicated in memory, executive function, and orientation cognitive tests, reports MedPage Today . The outcomes also revealed a direct association between a 2.2 percent increase in HbA1c (1 mmol/mol) and a faster rate of cognitive decline over time. "The associations between dementia and diabetes mellitus have been supported by previous researchers," says Imperial College London's Wuxiang Xie. "However, the associations of glycated hemoglobin with the trajectory of cognitive decline were not well-established. Therefore, we decided to conduct this study to find out whether high levels of glycated hemoglobin A1c were associated with faster cognitive decline." The team gathered data on 5,189 participants in the English Longitudinal Study of Aging between 2004 and 2015. Among the total cohort, 8.6 percent of participants had diabetes and 22.9 percent were considered prediabetic. At baseline, diabetics were more likely to have higher blood pressure and body mass index and cardiovascular disease. Both memory and executive functioning scores at baseline also tended to be lower among diabetics versus those with normoglycemia. A sensitivity analysis exhibited similar findings, in a model excluding 261 individuals who developed diabetes during follow-up.