Study Finds Dementia Link in 22,000 People

Nearly 22,000 adults took part in research examining whether social and economic conditions corresponded with dementia risk. More than 10,000 participants had type 2 diabetes, and follow-up lasted as long as 14 years. Income, education, housing, loneliness, and stress were combined into a single measure that classified circumstances as favorable, moderate, or unfavorable. The researchers also tested whether the patterns held in another group.

Within the type 2 diabetes group, participants facing unfavorable circumstances had over double the dementia risk of those whose circumstances were favorable. The pattern varied by sex: the increase was modest for men with diabetes, while affected women had a risk multiple times higher than women in the favorable category. For women managing diabetes, loneliness and perceived stress stood out as especially important factors.

Diabetes was also tied to greater risk among participants in the moderate and unfavorable categories. In those two groups, dementia risk was nearly threefold higher for people with type 2 diabetes compared with those without it. Household income, local education levels, home ownership, loneliness, and perceived stress all showed associations with dementia risk.

More favorable circumstances seemed to lessen part of the extra dementia risk connected with diabetes. The findings do not establish that changing social or financial conditions will prevent dementia, but they indicate that financial security, social connection, and stress may be meaningful parts of long-term brain health.