title: Diabetes mellitus and the risk of dementia: The Rotterdam Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the influence of type 2 diabetes mellitus on the risk of dementia and AD.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Both dementia and diabetes are frequent disorders in elderly people.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective population-based cohort study among 6,370 elderly subjects. At baseline study participants were examined for presence of diabetes mellitus. Nondemented participants were followed up, on average, for 2.1 years. Incident dementia was diagnosed using a three-step screening and comprehensive diagnostic workup. To complete the follow-up, medical files were studied of persons who could not be reexamined. We estimated relative risks with proportional hazard regression, adjusting for age, sex, and possible confounders.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During the follow-up, 126 patients became demented, of whom 89 had AD. Diabetes mellitus almost doubled the risk of dementia (relative risk [RR] 1.9 [1.3 to 2.8]) and AD (RR 1.9 [1.2 to 3.1]). Patients treated with insulin were at highest risk of dementia (RR 4.3 [1.7 to 10.5]).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The diabetes attributable risk for dementia of 8.8% suggests that diabetes may have contributed to the clinical syndrome in a substantial proportion of all dementia patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Erasmus University Medical School, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ott
authors.forename: R P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Stolk
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: van Harskamp
authors.forename: H A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Pols
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hofman
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Breteler
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012306:Risk
chemical_list: D007328:Insulin