Patients with type 2 diabetes have a increased risk of developing dementiaa condition that can be avoided if they adopt certain habits with a positive sign for their lives.
Changes in diet prevent cognitive decline
According to data presented this year at the annual conference of the European Society for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), if only seven factors related to type 2 diabetes are regulated, such as: smoking, hypertension, hyperglycemia, obesity, reduced physical activity, dietary imbalance, and absence of albuminuria: significantly reduce the chances of developing dementia in these patients.
The study was extensive and with a large dynamics research sample of nearly 88,000 people with an average age of 57, drawing data from the British Research Biobank.
Analysis of brain scans and medical data, followed by a 9-year follow-up period, revealed a progressively lower risk of dementia in patients with type 2 diabetes who had adopted a greater number of risk factors within the proposed guidelines.
In terms of brain health, the differences in cognitive performance and structural brain abnormalities were clearly smaller when these seven “golden” rules were followed. In fact, the specific data was confirmed by the Maastricht study, which concerned a part of the population of the Netherlands.
The three biggest changes
The three factors that most significantly reduced the risk of dementia were maintenance of normal blood glucose levels, not smoking, and the absence of albuminuria (a sign of kidney damage).
These results are particularly important, as this is the first study to investigate the association of so many different factors with cognitive decline, but also the changes that occur in the brain of patients with type 2 diabetes.
Risk factors not only affect «The risk of dementia, but also the structure of the brain and current levels of cognitive functionsaid Dr. April van Gennip of Maastricht University.
In fact, along with the onset of dementia, the risk of cognitive decline and structural changes in the brain, factors that increase the risk of developing the disease, is particularly high for patients with type 2 diabetes.
To investigate further, the researchers looked at the incidence of dementia, as well as cognitive decline and structural abnormalities of the brain compared to adopting factors. In this 9-year follow-up, 147 (1.4%) people with diabetes and 412 (0.5%) people in the control group developed dementia.
The researchers found that when participants adopted 5 of the 7 factors, the incidence of cognitive decline associated with type 2 diabetes was lower.
In conclusion, and since there is currently no treatment that can prevent the onset of dementia, the data is especially encouraging for patients with type 2 diabetes, as they can reduce risk with easy and methodical movements. But at the same time, the same changes offer multiple benefits for overall health.