The lessons to take away from the fact that therapies for type 2 diabetes lower risk of age-related disease in diabetic patient populations are much the same as the lessons to take away from the fact that weight loss drugs produce a reduction in age-related disease. Firstly the diabetic metabolism is harmful to the degree that is remains poorly controlled, and secondly excess weight is harmful. These lessons may have little relevance to the aging of thin, physically fit people, and diabetes-associated metabolic processes may not be the most important area of focus when it comes to the aging of thin, physically fit people.
The retrospective study looked at people with type 2 diabetes who started diabetes medication from 2014 to 2019 in South Korea. People taking SGLT2 inhibitors were matched with people taking other oral diabetes drugs, so the two groups had people with similar ages, other health conditions and complications from diabetes. Then researchers followed the participants to see whether they developed dementia or Parkinson's disease. Those taking the SGLT2 inhibitors were followed for an average of two years and those taking the other drugs were followed for an average of four years.
Among the 358,862 participants with an average age of 58, a total of 6,837 people developed dementia or Parkinson's disease during the study. For Alzheimer's disease, the incidence rate for people taking SGLT2 inhibitors was 39.7 cases per 10,000 person-years, compared to 63.7 cases for those taking other diabetes drugs. Person-years represent both the number of people in the study and the amount of time each person spends in the study. For vascular dementia, which is dementia caused by vascular disease, the incidence rate for people taking the SGLT2 drugs was 10.6 cases per 10,000, compared to 18.7 for those taking the other drugs. For Parkinson's disease, the incidence rate for those taking the SGLT2 drugs was 9.3 cases per 10,000, compared to 13.7 for those taking the other drugs.
After researchers adjusted for other factors that could affect the risk of dementia or Parkinson's disease, such as complications from diabetes and medications, they found that SGLT2 inhibitor use was associated with a 20% reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease and a 20% reduced risk of Parkinson's disease. Those taking the drugs had a 30% reduced risk of developing vascular dementia.
Link: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1057863
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