Senile dementia in diabetes: risk calculator

Scientists have learned to calculate the risk of dementia in diabetics

RIA NewsThe risk of developing senile dementia can be calculated in a ten-year perspective for a patient with type 2 diabetes, say scientists from the Netherlands and the USA, whose work is published in the journal Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology.

Researchers from the University Medical Center in Utrecht (University Medical Center Utrecht) and the Kaiser Center in California studied the data of about 30 thousand diabetics aged 60 years and older over a ten-year period. They found 8 factors that most often precede the development of dementia (senile dementia). Among them are disorders in the work of capillaries, the so-called "diabetic foot" (ulcers on the feet), a violation of the blood supply to the brain. Each of the factors was assigned its own number of points to calculate the individual risk of developing dementia.

"Patients with type 2 diabetes are twice as likely to develop dementia compared to those who do not suffer from diabetes. For the first time, we calculated individual risks specifically for this category of patients," says lead author Dr. Rachel Whitmer from the Kaiser Permanente Center in the USA.

The researchers found that among diabetics with the lowest number of points according to the developed 20-point system, the risk of developing dementia was 5.3%, while those who scored the maximum developed dementia in 73% of cases (or 37 times more often) within 10 years.

Table from the article by Exalto et al. Risk score for prediction of 10 year dementia risk
in individuals with type 2 diabetes: a cohort study – VM.The authors say that all the signs are easy to find in the patient's medical record and the risk of developing dementia in him can be calculated with a regular visit to the doctor.

This will not require any laboratory tests or MRI scans, and the patient will be able to receive preventive treatment in time.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 25 million children and adults suffer from type 2 diabetes in the United States. In addition to the high risk of dementia, diabetes leads to kidney failure, gangrene and amputation of limbs and blindness.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru21.08.2013