Link Between Hypoglycemia & Dementia (Alzheimers)

A recent study of interest to Kimkins members published in JAMA points to a strong connection between hypoglycemia and dementia (Alzheimers) in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes.

Researchers from Kaiser Permanente and University of California at San Francisco conducted the study with 16,667 participants between 1980 and 2007. The median age was 65.

Participants with no prior history of dementia or general memory complaints as of January 2003 were followed for 4 years. Compared with patients who had no hypoglycemia the researchers found that patients who experienced hypoglycemic episodes increased their risk of dementia for each episode.

Read the study summary here. A strong reminder that careful blood sugar control is important to avoid complications down the road. Hypoglycemia is often caused by excessive insulin doses in diabetics.