Middle-aged diabetic link to dementia

DEVELOPING diabetes in middle age doubles your risk of getting dementia by the age of 70, a study shows.

Researchers looked at the link between dementia and type 2 diabetes, which affects almost a quarter of a million Irish people.

The researchers found that the earlier individuals develop the condition, which is caused by poor diet and obesity, the greater their risk of dementia in old age.

The findings add to evidence that hundreds of thousands of middleaged people in Ireland could ward off dementia if they adopt a healthier lifestyle now.

The study looked at data from more than 10,000 people, who had their health monitored for 31 years. They were twice as likely to have dementia at the age of 70 if they had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes before the age of 60.

Those who were diagnosed with diabetes between the age of 60 and 64 had a 50 per cent higher risk of dementia. Meanwhile, those who got diabetes in their late sixties were 10% more likely to develop severe memory loss by 70.

The study also found that the earlier someone developed diabetes, the earlier they were likely to be diagnosed with dementia. ‘Every five-year earlier onset of diabetes was significantly associated with a 25% higher risk of dementia,’ said the University of Paris researchers.

The study, published in the journal JAMA, concluded that diabetes is likely to cause more than one per cent of the more than 64,000 dementia cases in Ireland.

The findings will add to fears that Ireland’s diabetes epidemic is storing up a timebomb of future health problems.

Some 250,000 people in Ireland are living with diabetes and 90% of those have type 2.

Levels have trebled over the past 25 years due to rising obesity.

Type 1 diabetes is an unpreventable autoimmune disease that usually develops in childhood.

Dr Lucy Chambers of Diabetes UK, said: ‘This research… provides insight into the long-term impact of type 2 diabetes on brain health.

‘There are steps everyone can take to reduce individual risk of developing type 2 diabetes, such as eating a healthy, balanced diet and keeping active.’

Up to 40% of dementia cases could be avoided or delayed by eating less and exercising more, a major study found last year.