Diabetes, high blood pressure linked to degenerative diseases like dementia
Diabetes and hypertension could have a domino effect for future health problems like dementia — especially for Black Americans, according to a new University of Georgia study.
The study found that Black Americans diagnosed with both conditions in midlife had significantly higher levels of a dementia-related biomarker more than a decade later.
“This matters. This study shows that chronic conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes, especially when combined together, might start damaging the brain earlier than we thought, especially for this group,” said Rachael Weaver, corresponding author of the study and a graduate student in the UGA Franklin College of Arts and Sciences department of sociology. “When these two conditions show up together in midlife, they might start a chain reaction leading to brain aging even as much as a decade later.”
Out of the over 250 participants, those with both diabetes and hypertension at midlife had elevated levels of a biomarker of dementia. Both of these diagnoses not only contributed to higher amounts of that biomarker but also a greater increase of it over an 11-year period.
The findings suggest that health practitioners should place a higher focus on cardiovascular health as an indicator of dementia risk, especially among Black Americans, the researchers said.
“Health inequities like the ones that we’re exploring are not inevitable. They are very systemic, and they’re potentially preventable. Just as crucial as early screening and treatment is the need for change that addresses the structural inequities putting Black Americans at higher risk in the first place,” said Weaver.
This study was funded by the National Institute on Aging and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Co-authors include Steven Beach, Regents Professor of Psychology in the Franklin College; Yu-Wen Lu, a graduate student in the Franklin College; and the late Ron Simons, Regents Professor in the UGA Department of Sociology, who passed away in March. Additional co-authors include Michelle M. Mielke.
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