Prediabetes and diabetes were associated with brains that were 0.5 and 2.3 years older than chronological age, respectively. The brains of people with poorly controlled diabetes appeared to be more than four years older than their chronological age. The researchers also noticed that the difference between brain age and chronological age widened slightly over time in people with diabetes. These associations were weaker among people who refrained from smoking and excessive alcohol consumption and were physically active.
“An older looking brain compared to chronological age may indicate a deviation from the normal ageing process and be an early warning sign of dementia,” said Abigail Dove, a doctoral student at the Centre for Ageing Research, Department of Neurobiology, Care Science and Sociology, Karolinska Institutet and lead author of the study. “On the positive side, it appears that people with diabetes can influence their brain health through healthy living.”
Preventing cognitive impairment
Repeat MRI data was obtained for a small percentage of study participants, and follow-up MRI scans are currently being conducted so that researchers can continue to study the link between diabetes and brain aging over time.
“The prevalence of type 2 diabetes in the population is high and increasing,” says Abigail Dove, “and we hope that our research will help prevent cognitive impairment and dementia in people with diabetes and prediabetes.”
The study was primarily funded by the Swedish Alzheimer's Foundation, the Dementia Research Fund, the Swedish Research Council and Forte (Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare). No conflicts of interest were reported.
Publications
“Diabetes, Prediabetes, and Brain Aging: The Role of a Healthy Lifestyle,” Abigail Dove, Zhao Wang, Huijie Fan, Michelle M. Dunk, Sakura Sakakibara, Marc Guitart Masip, Goran Papenburg, and Weili Xu, Diabetes Care, online 28 August 2024, doi:10.2337/dc24-0860.
