Diabetes and depression each threaten brain health, said Dr. Charles Reynolds III, of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and author of a commentary accompanying the study.
Both ”pose threats to vascular health, thereby impeding maintenance of healthy brain aging and functioning, and posing a risk for cognitive decline,” he said.
Reynolds urged those who have a combination of diabetes and depression to get treatment for both in order to protect their brain.
“Lifestyle choices, such as increasing physical activity, will also benefit the management of both conditions,” he added.
The research team — led by Davydow and the study’s recently deceased first author, Dr. Wayne Katon — followed the study participants from 2007 through 2013. All patients were dementia-free at the start.
The researchers said nearly 20 percent of participants had a diagnosis of depression, about 9 percent had diabetes, and nearly 4 percent had both.
Over the study period, more than 59,600 men and women (2.4 percent) got dementia — at age 81, on average. Of those, 26 percent had only depression, 11 percent had only type 2 diabetes and nearly 7 percent had both.
More information
For more about dementia, visit U.S. National Institutes of Health.