- Explain to patients who ask that the prevalence of diabetes is higher among African Americans and Hispanics, compared with whites, which could account for the higher rate of mild cognitive impairment.
- Explain that mild cognitive impairment is a risk factor for later Alzheimer's disease, but could be caused by other correctable factors such as cerebrovascular disease.
NEW YORK, April 9 -- Diabetes increases the risk of mild cognitive impairment with memory loss, often a precursor to Alzheimer's disease, investigators here have found.
The rate of mild cognitive impairment is especially high among groups at risk for type 2 diabetes, particularly Hispanics and African Americans, said José Luchsinger, M.D., of Columbia, and colleagues, reported the April issue of the Archives of Neurology.
"Our results provide further support to the potentially important independent role of diabetes in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease," the investigators asserted.
They suggested that diabetes might be linked to higher risk of Alzheimer's disease by contributing to cerebrovascular disease, or by direct effects on mechanisms of amyloid deposition.
