Marc Joseph Nutrition - Blog

This recent NY Times article discusses the increasing evidence of a greater risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), perhaps as much as double, for individuals with diabetes.

The relationship may be related to vascular damage observed in each condition. Other similarities and factors, such as:

• the build-up of amyloid plaque in both the brain in AD and the pancreas (which secretes insulin to manage blood sugar levels) in diabetes
• higher insulin levels leading to inflammation in the blood vessels & brain, and possibly even contributing to increased amyloid plaque formation

As summarized by the Alzheimer’s Association, the numbers and potential impact on society are breathtaking:

Alzheimer’s affects 1 in 10 people over age 65, and nearly half of people over 85. About 4.5 million Americans have it, and taking care of them costs $100 billion a year, according to the association. The number of patients is expected to grow, possibly reaching 11.3 million to 16 million by 2050, the association said.

And those numbers don’t include the potential increase from diabetes.

With diabetes rates skyrocketing:

• ~20M people with Type 2 diabetes in the U.S. — double the number of ten years ago
• ~40M people in the U.S. with “pre-diabetes,” or elevated blood sugar
• ~230M people worldwide with Type 2 diabetes — up from 20M twenty years ago

it’s easy to see why a neurology professor quoted in the article says, “Alzheimer’s is going to swamp the health care system.”

Whether cognitive decline is brought on by Alzheimer’s, vascular disease, diabetes, environmental toxicity, or a combination of the conditions, what is clear is the importance of preventive measures and acting early to head off potential problems. The links above provide overviews of actions that can be taken to do just that.