Many studies have suggested that people with Type 2 diabetes may be at higher risk for developing dementia. But a study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that extreme drops in blood sugar, known as hypoglycemia, might be the factor that increases the incidence of dementia in aging patients.

The study, which surveyed more than 15,000 patients with Type 2 diabetes over a 27 year period, reported that even one severe episode of hypoglycemia puts patients at an increased risk for developing dementia. The risk of dementia continued to increase with each subsequent hypoglycemic episode.

The results showed that patients who required hospitalization for a single episode of hypoglycemia had a 26 percent higher risk for dementia than patients who never had hypoglycemia. Patients who required hospitalization for two hypoglycemic episodes had an increased risk of 80 percent, while those who required hospitalization three or more times had a 94 percent increased risk, roughly twice that of patients with no history of hypoglycemia.

No research was conducted on the relationship between minor hypoglycemic episodes and dementia.

Read more about dementia on Healia’s Dementia Health Guide. Discuss your experiences with the neurological disorder on the Healia Dementia Community and Support Group, or share your diabetes stories on the Diabetes Type 2 Community and Support Group.


_{Photo: hweiling, Flickr, Creative Commons}