Disordered Sleep Raises Dementia Risk in New-Onset Type 2 Diabetes

An analysis of Korean registry data found a significant association between sleep disorders and elevated risk for dementia among adults with new-onset type 2 diabetes, reports Healio . "Sleep disorders increased the risk of Alzheimer's disease, but had no influence on vascular dementia," said Yonsei University's Jae Woo Choi and Dallae Jin. "Although positive significant association between sleep disorders and Alzheimer's disease was well established, previous evidence for vascular dementia were unclear." The researchers analyzed data from 39,135 adults at least 40 years old with new-onset type 2 diabetes between 2004 and 2007, tracking them through 2013. There were 2,059 events of dementia recorded across an average follow-up of 5.7 years, and adults with type 2 diabetes and sleep disorders were 46 percent more likely to have all-cause dementia and 69 percent more likely to have other dementia compared to those without sleep disorders. Moreover, men and older adults with type 2 diabetes and sleep disorders had higher risks for dementia compared with those without sleep disorders. "This study suggests that fastidious investigation and adequate management of sleep disorders among the patients with type 2 diabetes may be useful and relevant ways to prevent dementia partly," Choi and Jin concluded.