Older people suffering from diabetes are more likely to be diagnosed with dementia when they experience episodes of severe hypoglycemia, a new study in the April 15 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association reveals.

 

Study co-author Rachel Whitmer, an epidemiologist at the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research, in Oakland, Calif. and her colleagues analyzed records from a Kaiser Permanente registry dating from 1980 to 2002 belonging to nearly 17,000 people who had type 2 diabetes but no signs of dementia, mild cognitive impairment or even memory complaints during the time span. The patients averaged 65 years of age as of 1994.

 

The researchers found that having one episode of hypoglycemia serious enough to need doctors’ care increased patients’ risk of dementia in later age by 45 percent. Experiencing two episodes increased the risk by 115 percent and three or more episodes raised risk by 160 percent.

 

For the study, the authors looked back at the records of older diabetic patients for trips to the hospital or emergency room for hypoglycemia from 1980 through 2002. Patients, who had a mean age in the mid-60s, were then followed from 2003 through 2007 for signs of dementia.

 

Overall, about 9 percent of the patients suffered episodes of serious hypoglycemia over the 22-year period and 11 percent were diagnosed with dementia from 2003 to 2007.

 

“Pharmacologically induced severe hypoglycemia may be associated with neurological consequences in an older population already susceptible to dementia. Our data further suggest a need for caution in [older patients],” said Dr. Whitmer and colleagues.