(Ivanhoe Newswire) – Diabetics who suffer severe hypoglycemia may be at greater
risk of developing dementia.
Many diabetics suffer from hypoglycemia – when the blood glucose levels drop too
low, causing dizziness, disorientation, fainting or seizures. While most
hypoglycemia is mild and easily managed by the patient, more severe events can
require hospitalization or an emergency room visit. Researchers followed more
than 16,000 patients with type 2 diabetes for 22 years to monitor follow-up for
hypoglycemia events and later diagnosis of dementia.
"Specifically, we observed a 2.39 percent increase in absolute risk of dementia
per year of follow-up for patients with history of hypoglycemia, compared with
patients without a history," the study authors wrote." Although this one-year
absolute risk difference is modest, the cumulative effects would be sizeable."
When compared with patients with no hypoglycemia, patients with single or
multiple episodes increased their dementia risk with each incidence. Those with
one hypoglycemic episode had a 26 percent increased risk, while those who
suffered two episodes showed an 80 percent increased risk. Three or more
hypoglycemic episodes nearly doubles a patient’s risk for dementia, according to
the study.
SOURCE: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 2009;301[15]:1565-1572
