Preventing diabetes and depression could have a dramatic impact on cutting cases of dementia, a study suggests.
It is estimated that one million people in the UK will have dementia by 2025. Several risk factors for the disease have been identified, including obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, but British and French researchers have found that early screening for diabetes and treatment of depression would be the most useful approach for trying to reduce the future burden of dementia.
The researchers took a group of 1,400 elderly people and tested them for signs of dementia after two, four and seven years. Eliminating depression and diabetes and increasing fruit and vegetable consumption were estimated to lead to an overall 21% reduction in new cases of dementia
Dr Victoria King, head of research at Diabetes UK, told Medical ID wearers that there is a growing body of evidence suggesting links between diabetes and Alzheimer's disease:
"Finding ways to stop the type 2 diabetes epidemic in its tracks can only be seen as a good thing - especially as this could prevent millions of people developing the serious complications of the condition, which include heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, blindness and amputation."
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