This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Study links mid-life onset of diabetes, hypertension with higher rate of cognitive impairment
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
People who develop type 2 diabetes or hypertension in middle age may be more likely to suffer brain damage that can contribute to dementia as they grow older, according to a new study published in the journal Neurology and reported by HealthDay News.
"People who had diabetes earlier in life had much worse brain [structure] than those who had it later in life," lead author Dr. Rosebud Roberts, a Mayo Clinic researcher, told HealthDay. "These scans are showing us that cognitive impairment happens over a long period of time. The earlier you develop type 2 diabetes, the more likely you are to have damage."
(Related: Researchers develop new dementia-risk score for patients with type 2 diabetes)
Although the study demonstrated a link between diabetes and high blood pressure in middle age and memory problems later in life, it didn't prove a cause-and-effect relationship.
Read more about the study at HealthDay News.
Find more articles about diabetes