BMJ Online First press release
Prospective study of type 2 diabetes and cognitive decline in women aged 70-81 years
Women with diabetes have worse mental (cognitive) function and suffer greater cognitive decline than women without diabetes, warn researchers. Cognitive decline is an intermediate stage between normal ageing and dementia.
This study will be available on bmj.com on Monday 23 February 2004.
Researchers interviewed 18,999 women aged 70-81 years, who were taking part in the nurses' health study in the United States. The women were tested for cognitive function and cognitive decline over two years.
At the start of the study, women with type 2 diabetes performed worse on all cognitive tests than women without diabetes. Odds of poor cognition were 50% higher for women who had had diabetes for more 15 years or more.
In contrast, women with diabetes who were on oral antidiabetic drugs performed similarly to women without diabetes, while women not using any medication had the greatest odds of poor performance compared with women without diabetes.
These findings suggest that prevention and control of type 2 diabetes in women could have critically important public health consequences, conclude the authors.
Click here to view full paper:http://press.psprings.co.uk/bmj/february/diabetes.pdf
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