Study Shows Link Between Brain Shrinkage and High-End Normal-Range Blood Sugar Levels

Those whose blood sugar is on the high end of the normal range may be at greater risk of brain shrinkage that occurs with aging and diseases such as dementia, according to new research that appears in the Sept. 4, 2012, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

“Numerous studies have shown a link between type-2 diabetes and brain shrinkage and dementia, but we haven’t known much about whether people with blood sugar on the high end of normal experience these same effects,” says study author Nicolas Cherbuin, PhD, of Australian National University.

The study involved 249 people ages 60 to 64 who had blood sugar in the normal range as defined by the World Health Organization. Participants were given brain scans at the start of the study and again an average of four years later. For more information, click here to read the full release.