Association of Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 and Alzheimer's Disease

Insulin serves an important role in brain metabolism, and insulin resistance and subsequent diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM2) can give rise to dysfunction of brain metabolism. This study aimed to test the hypothesis of association of late onset Alzheimer's disease (AD) with DM2 in an Iranian population.

In this case-control study, 243 subjects including 81 patients with late onset AD and 162 healthy controls were recruited. The frequency of DM were compared in AD patients with non-AD counterparts.

The prevalence of diabetes in AD and control patients was 27% and 9%, respectively. (OR = 3.94, 95% confidence interval: 1.89-8.22). After adjustment for age and gender, there was a significant association between DM2 and AD (OR = 3.7, 95% confidence interval: 1.73-8.00).

The evidence from the present study suggested that DM2 was associated with AD in an Iranian population. Further longitudinal studies are warranted to confirm this finding.