Title | Diabetic Retinopathy Predicts Risk of Alzheimer's Disease: A Danish Registry-Based Nationwide Cohort Study. |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2022 |
Authors | Pedersen, FNørregaar, Stokholm, L, Pouwer, F, Rubin, KHass, Peto, T, Frydkjær-Olsen, U, Thykjær, ASuhr, Andersen, N, Andresen, J, Bek, T, La Cour, M, Heegaard, S, Højlund, K, Kawasaki, R, Hajari, JNouri, Kyvik, KOhm, Laugesen, CSchmidt, Schielke, KChristina, Simó, R, Grauslund, J |
Journal | J Alzheimers Dis |
Volume | 86 |
Issue | 1 |
Pagination | 451-460 |
Date Published | 2022 |
ISSN | 1875-8908 |
Keywords | Alzheimer Disease, Cohort Studies, Denmark, Diabetes Mellitus, Diabetic Retinopathy, Humans, Registries, Risk Factors |
Abstract | BACKGROUND: Retinal neurodegeneration is evident in early diabetic retinopathy (DR) which may be associated with other neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease (AD). OBJECTIVE: To investigate diabetes and DR as a risk marker of present and incident AD. METHODS: A register-based cohort study was performed. We included 134,327 persons with diabetes above 60 years of age, who had attended DR screening, and 651,936 age- and gender-matched persons without diabetes. RESULTS: At baseline, the prevalence of AD was 0.7% and 1.3% among patients with and without diabetes, respectively. In a multivariable regression model, patients with diabetes were less likely to have AD at baseline (adjusted OR 0.63, 95% CI 0.59-0.68). During follow-up, incident AD was registered for 1473 (0.35%) and 6,899 (0.34%) persons with and without diabetes, respectively. Compared to persons without diabetes, persons with diabetes and no DR had a lower risk to develop AD (adjusted HR 0.87, 95% CI 0.81-0.93), while persons with diabetes and DR had higher risk of AD (adjusted HR 1.24, 95% CI 1.08-1.43). When persons with diabetes and no DR were used as references, a higher risk of incident AD was observed in persons with DR (adjusted HR 1.34, 95% CI 1.18-1.53). CONCLUSION: Individuals with diabetes without DR were less likely to develop AD compared to persons without diabetes. However, individuals with DR had a 34% higher risk of incident AD, which raise the question whether screening for cognitive impairment should be done among individuals with DR. |
DOI | 10.3233/JAD-215313 |
Alternate Journal | J Alzheimers Dis |
PubMed ID | 35068460 |
PubMed Central ID | PMC9028615 |