Brain function and structure and risk for incident diabetes: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Michael P. Bancks, Northwestern University; Alvaro Alonso, Emory University; Rebecca F. Gottesman, Johns Hopkins University; Thomas H. Mosley, University of Mississippi; Elizabeth Selvin, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; James S. Pankow, Univ Minnesota
• Language: English
• Date: 2017-12-01
• Publisher: Elsevier: 12 months
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2017 the Alzheimer's Association
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jalz.2017.04.006
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Alzheimer's and Dementia
• ISSN: 1552-5260
• Volume: 13
• Issue: 12
• Start Page: 1345
• End Page: 1354
• Grant/Funding Information: M.P.B. was supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health under Award Numbers T32HL007779 and T32HL069771 to conduct the current work. ARIC is supported by NHLBI contracts HHSN268201100005C, HHSN268201100006C, HHSN268201100007C, HHSN268201100008C, HHSN268201100009C, HHSN268201100010C, HHSN268201100011C, and HHSN268201100012C. Neurocognitive data is collected by U01 2U01HL096812, 2U01HL096814, 2U01HL096899, 2U01HL096902, 2U01HL096917 from the NIH (NHLBI, NINDS, NIA and NIDCD), and with previous brain MRI examinations funded by R01-HL70825 from the NHLBI. Dr. Selvin was supported by NIH/ NIDDK grants K24DK106414 and 2R01DK089174.
• Keywords: PHYSICAL-ACTIVITY; Epidemiology; Incident diabetes; DEMENTIA; ALZHEIMERS-DISEASE; Science & Technology; Prospective; COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT; ASSOCIATION; ADULTS; Neurosciences & Neurology; Clinical Neurology; INSULIN; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; HEALTH; Brain magnetic resonance imaging; Cognitive function; POPULATION; CARDIOVASCULAR-DISEASE
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Epidemiology; Biology, Neuroscience

Abstract

Introduction: Diabetes is prospectively associated with cognitive decline. Whether lower cognitive function and worse brain structure are prospectively associated with incident diabetes is unclear. Methods: We analyzed data for 10,133 individuals with cognitive function testing (1990–1992) and 1212 individuals with brain magnetic resonance imaging (1993–1994) from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities cohort. We estimated hazard ratios for incident diabetes through 2014 after adjustment for traditional diabetes risk factors and cohort attrition. Results: Higher level of baseline cognitive function was associated with lower risk for diabetes (per 1 standard deviation, hazard ratio = 0.94; 95% confidence interval = 0.90, 0.98). This association did not persist after accounting for baseline glucose level, case ascertainment methods, and cohort attrition. No association was observed between any brain magnetic resonance imaging measure and incident diabetes. Discussion: This is one of the first studies to prospectively evaluate the association between both cognitive function and brain structure and the incidence of diabetes.