Mental Decline Likely from Diabetes

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - People with diabetes and high blood pressure are more likely to suffer a decline in mental ability as they age, a study says.

Researchers said the findings indicate that getting diabetes and hypertension under control before age 60 might reduce mental impairment later in life.

The researchers believe that both diseases cause narrowing of the arteries, which triggers both noticeable and unnoticeable strokes that produce incremental brain damage.

Dr. David Knopman, a Mayo Clinic neurologist who led the research, said it is the first study to show mental changes in younger diabetics.

The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and was published Tuesday in Neurology, the journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Tests were given to nearly 11,000 people on two occasions six years apart. The subjects were divided into two groups: those younger than 58, and those 58 and older.

The study found diabetes was associated with greater cognitive decline in both age groups, while high blood pressure was associated with greater decline in only the 58-and-older group. The tests showed loss in "processing speed," but not memory, Knopman said.

Mary Haan, a University of Michigan School of Public Health researcher who also studies mental decline in older people, endorsed the conclusions.