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Glucose level decline precedes dementia in elderly African Americans with diabetes
Author(s) -
Hendrie Hugh C.,
Zheng Mengjie,
Li Wei,
Lane Kathleen,
Ambuehl Roberta,
Purnell Christianna,
Unverzagt Frederick W.,
Torke Alexia,
Balasubramanyam Ashok,
Callahan Chris M.,
Gao Sujuan
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1016/j.jalz.2016.08.017
Subject(s) - dementia , diabetes mellitus , medicine , cognitive decline , medical record , cognition , gerontology , psychiatry , endocrinology , disease
High blood glucose levels may be responsible for the increased risk for dementia in diabetic patients. Methods A secondary data analysis merging electronic medical records (EMRs) with data collected from the Indianapolis–Ibadan Dementia project (IIDP). Of the enrolled 4105 African Americans, 3778 were identified in the EMR. Study endpoints were dementia, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), or normal cognition. Repeated serum glucose measurements were used as the outcome variables. Results Diabetic participants who developed incident dementia had a significant decrease in serum glucose levels in the years preceding the diagnosis compared to the participants with normal cognition ( P = .0002). They also had significantly higher glucose levels up to 9 years before the dementia diagnosis ( P = .0367). Discussion High glucose levels followed by a decline occurring years before diagnosis in African American participants with diabetes may represent a powerful presymptomatic metabolic indicator of dementia.High glucose levels increased risk for dementia in diabetic patients. Glucose levels significantly declined as the patient progressed to dementia. These findings may represent a strong early metabolic indicator for dementia.