Association of Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 and Alzheimer's Disease

Background: Insulin serves an important role in brain metabolism, and insulin resistance and subsequent diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM2) can give rise to dysfunction of brain metabolism. This study aimed to test the hypothesis of association of late onset Alzheimer’s disease (AD) with DM2 in an Iranian population. Methods: In this case-control study, 243 subjects including 81 patients with late onset AD and 162 healthy controls were recruited. The frequency of DM were compared in AD patients with non-AD counterparts. Results: The prevalence of diabetes in AD and control patients was 27% and 9%, respectively. (OR = 3.94, 95% confidence interval: 1.89-8.22). After adjustment for age and gender, there was a significant association between DM2 and AD (OR = 3.7, 95% confidence interval: 1.73-8.00). Conclusion: The evidence from the present study suggested that DM2 was associated with AD in an Iranian population. Further longitudinal studies are warranted to confirm this finding.