Diabetes Study Suggests Brain Function Decline

Diabetics, or those at high risk for diabetes, have a new worry: How it will affect their brains. A recent Canadian study suggests that those with type 2 diabetes, sometimes known as adult onset diabetes, need to be concerned about their cognitive brain function. Approximately 12 percent of the adults over age 60 in Canada have been diagnosed with diabetes and about 20 percent of the United States population of the same age is affected. Generally the disease does not strike until the individual is over the age of 40, but as the general public becomes more obese and health factors such as exercise and diet are ignored, the percentage of affected adults will rise, or the general age of diagnosis will lower.

Diabetes has long been known as a factor in hypertension, stroke, and conditions of the cardiovascular system, and has been indicated as a factor in early dementia. Researchers at the University of Alberta tracked 41 people with type 2 diabetes and 424 without diabetes between the ages of 53 and 90. The study found that healthy adults performed significantly better in executive functioning and speed of thought. There were no significant differences in memory, verbal fluency, or reaction time. It was also found that there was no greater impairment in the older test subjects than younger ones, leading to the conclusion that the effects happen early in the disease and remain stable throughout the rest of the individual’s lifetime.

The researchers' intent was to clarify earlier information on the reduction of mental acuity in diabetics by trying to isolate the ability or abilities that were most affected. Originally 44 people with type 2 diabetes and 522 healthy people were selected for the study, but anyone who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or other neurological problems, cardiovascular disease,  psychiatric conditions, drug use or other conditions which could effect the outcome were eliminated. This was a cross-sectional study comparing people with and without diabetes. Cross-sectional studies do not prove causation and this study cannot prove that the difference in mental performance between diabetics and non-diabetics was related to their condition. Other factors such as individual cognitive ability, health-related behaviors, or just general health may have played a role in the conclusions. Other than blood pressure, no other factors were considered that could affect how diabetes changes cognition. The small number of diabetics compared to the control group also raises the possibility that the differences may be related strictly to chance.

This study does support other studies that indicate that diabetes can affect cognitive ability, but it does not conclusively establish a related condition. Larger studies need to be done to confirm which aspects of functions are most affected and what part diabetes actually plays in the condition.

This doesn’t mean diabetics are "off the hook," so to speak. Diabetes can wreak havoc on so many of the bodies systems it pays to stay healthy and do everything possible to avoid the disease.