Crucial Health Factors for Diabetics to Consider to Avoid Dementia

Fri, 21 Aug 2009
There are key health factors to consider should you wish to avoid dementia .

Middle-aged smokers, those with high blood pressure or diabetics are more likely to develop dementia in later life, so says a new study. In an article published online August 19, 2009 in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry . The researchers also suggest that controlling cardiovascular risk factors in midlife can prevent dementia later on.

The population studied included whites and African Americans, so says lead author Dr Alvaro Alonso of University of Minnesota, Minneapolis . For the first time, it has been possible to show that cardiovascular risk factors in midlife are related to dementia in later life in both racial and ethnic groups.

On the whole, blacks had a 2.5 times higher rate of hospitalisation for dementia than whites. Black women aged 75 years had the highest rates of all.

Current smokers are 70% more likely than those who had never smoked to develop dementia. Those with high blood pressure are 60% more likely than those without high blood pressure to develop dementia. Diabetes sufferers are more than twice as likely as those without diabetes to experience cognitive impairment.

The study was of 11 000 people aged 46 to 70 years. They underwent a physical examination and cognitive testing. Follow-ups were conducted a decade later to see how many had developed dementia.

203 patients were hospitalised with dementia. Diabetes, smoking and high blood pressure are strong factors associated with this diagnosis.

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