Epidemiology of diabetes and risk of dementia:the Hisayama Study

Tomoyuki Ohara¹⁾, Yutaka Kiyohara²⁾

¹⁾Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University
²⁾Department of Environmental Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University

The association between diabetes mellitus and the risk of developing dementia has received much attention in epidemiological studies. However, the results from these studies are still inconclusive. The Hisayama Study, which is a prospective cohort study of dementia conducted in a Japanese elderly since 1985, demonstrated that people with diabetes were at an increasing risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VaD). Moreover, 2-hour post-load glucose levels were closely associated with increased risk of AD and VaD. In a pathological study of Hisayama residents, higher levels of 2-hour post-load glucose, fasting insulin, and HOMA-IR were significantly associated with increased risk of neuritic plaques.

Address correspondence to Dr. Tomoyuki Ohara, Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University (3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashiku, Fukuoka City 812-8582, Japan)