People with blood sugar at the upper end of the “normal scale” may have a higher risk of suffering from mental health problems with aging, including dementia and reduced brain volume, according to a study conducted in Australia.
Researchers at the Australian National University in Canberra say that the study could produce a revolution in the way diabetes is defined and in understanding how the brain is affected by blood sugar levels.
The study involved 249 people aged between 60 and 64 years that had blood sugar within normal limits, as defined by the World Health Organization.
Participants’ brains were scanned at the beginning of research and then after a period of four years, on average. The results were correlated with blood glucose values measured in blood collected in the morning on an empty stomach, expressed in mmol/l (millimoles per liter)
Those who had a blood sugar level closer to normal maximum value (6.1 mmol/l) were more likely to suffer from a decrease in the volume of the hippocampus and amygdala – two brain areas associated with memory and cognitive abilities – compared to those with lower blood sugar levels.
Once they have removed the contribution of other factors, such as age, hypertension, smoking, and alcohol consumption, researchers found that blood sugar levels close to the maximum value considered normal today contribute to reducing the volume of the brain by 6-10%.
Nicolas Cherbuin, one of the study’s authors, says that several other studies have found correlations between diabetes, on the one hand, and reducing brain and dementia, on the other hand, but it was not known whether the glucose level close to the maximum considered normal can have on brain the same effect.
A blood glucose value of 10.0 mmol/l (180 mg/dL) or higher is the criterion for the diagnosis of diabetes, while the state characterized by values of 6.1 mmol/l (110 mg/dL) is defined as pre-diabetes .
The results of this new study, adds Nicolas Cherbuin, “suggest that for people who do not have diabetes, elevated glucose levels can still have an impact on the brain. Further research is needed, but these findings may lead us to rethink the concept definition of normal blood sugar and diabetes.”
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