Midlife Diabetes Diagnosis Doubles Dementia Risk

A midlife diagnosis of diabetes increases the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia, based on results of a twin study including more than 13,000 individuals.

Previous studies have shown that people with diabetes are at increased risk for dementia, but little is known about the mechanism of action, wrote Dr. Weili Xu of the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, and the Stockholm Gerontology Research Center. Dr. Xu and colleagues conducted this twin study to examine the effect of diabetes on dementia and assess the possible role of genetics (Diabetes 2009;58:71–7).