Connections between Diabetes and Cognitive Dysfunction.

Lee,  Seung Hwan

doi:2019.20.2.67

J Korean Diabetes > Volume 20(2); 2019 > Article

Statement

The Journal of Korean Diabetes 2019;20(2):67-73.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4093/jkd.2019.20.2.67 Published online July 17, 2019.

당뇨병과 인지기능장애

이승환

Connections between Diabetes and Cognitive Dysfunction.

Seung Hwan Lee

Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea. hwanx2@catholic.ac.kr

Abstract

Dementia, a clinical syndrome affecting memory, thinking, and social abilities primarily caused by neurodegeneration, is becoming one of the greatest health and socioeconomic burdens in the aging society. The age-standardized prevalence of dementia for people aged 60 or older was 5% to 7% in most world regions, affecting 47 million people in 2015. This number is expected to almost double every 20 years. Although aging is the greatest but non-modifiable risk factor, approximately 35% of the risk has been attributed to the combination of potentially modifiable risk factors including education, diet and lifestyle factors, psychiatric factors, and metabolic factors. There is ample evidence that people with glucose intolerance, insulin resistance, and metabolic syndrome are at higher risk for cognitive impairment and dementia compared to age- and sex-matched controls. Meta-analyses and large-scaled pooled analyses demonstrate that diabetes is associated with an approximately 60% to 70% increased risk of all types of dementia. In this article, the associations of hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia, and glucose variability with cognitive dysfunction and dementia are demonstrated. Also, the underlying mechanism of this connection and possible effects of anti-diabetic medications are discussed.

Key Words: Cognitive dysfunction, Dementia, Diabetes mellitus