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The Relation of Diabetes to Memory Function

  • Behavior (H S Kirshner, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose of Review

Research has consistently shown that type 2 diabetes (T2D) is associated with increased risk of all-cause dementia. Because one of the most common clinical presentations of early stage dementia is memory impairment, we examined the relationship of T2D with memory function, using the recently published scientific literature.

Recent Findings

We conducted a structured review to identify studies of “T2D and memory” published since 2015. After review of the 129 articles retrieved, we identified 14 studies meeting the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Among the eight studies with a single assessment of memory function in time (mostly cross-sectional), six found an association of T2D with lower memory function, but mostly in select subgroups of persons. Separately, six studies included repeated measures of memory (longitudinal design). Four out of six longitudinal studies found that T2D was related with a faster decline in memory, while two did not. Among the four studies showing a relation with memory decline, two had sample sizes of 9000–10,000 persons. Further, three longitudinal studies controlled for hypertension and stroke as covariates, and results suggested that common vascular risk factors and diseases do not account for the relation. While mechanistic studies clearly support a role for cerebrovascular disease in the relation of T2D with cognition, emerging data suggest that insulin resistance in the brain itself may also play a role.

Summary

Most, but not all, recently published studies suggest that T2D is associated with a lower level and faster decline in memory function. This association does not appear to be fully accounted for by common vascular processes. More research will clarify the mechanisms linking T2D to memory and dementia.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rush Memory Clinic, Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, 1750 W. Harrison Street, Suite 1000, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA

    Zoe Arvanitakis & David A. Bennett

  2. Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA

    Zoe Arvanitakis & David A. Bennett

  3. Rush Medical College, Rush University Medical Center, Rush University System for Health (RUSH), Chicago, IL, USA

    Zoe Arvanitakis, Manvita Tatavarthy & David A. Bennett

Authors
  1. Zoe Arvanitakis
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  2. Manvita Tatavarthy
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  3. David A. Bennett
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Correspondence to Zoe Arvanitakis.

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Conflict of Interest

Manvita Tatavarthy declares no potential conflicts of interest.

Zoe Arvanitakis reports grants from National Institutes of Health (R01 NS084965 and RF1 AG059621), during the conduct of the study; other from Amylyx, outside the submitted work.

David A. Bennett reports grants from National Institutes of Health (P30 AG10161, R01 AG015819, and R01 AG017917).

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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Arvanitakis, Z., Tatavarthy, M. & Bennett, D.A. The Relation of Diabetes to Memory Function. Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep 20, 64 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11910-020-01085-9

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