Cognitive Function in Children and Subsequent Type 2 Diabetes

We read with interest the article by Olsson et al. (1) that reported on the relation between IQ at age 11 years and risk of self-reported diabetes at age 42 years in the 1958 British birth cohort. Follow-up of large groups of children into adult life is important in this context because the measure of cognition can be regarded as being premorbid. This contrasts with assessment of cognition in older cohorts in which data interpretation is hampered by the possibility of reverse causality. As the authors indicate (1), although IQ in middle- and older-aged persons may influence diabetes, the reverse …