Diabetes status, duration and risk of dementia in patients with myocardial infarction

This study examines how diabetes mellitus (DM), specifically its diagnostic status and duration, influences dementia risk in individuals with a history of myocardial infarction (MI). We evaluated whether DM correlates with an increased incidence of all-cause dementia, as well as Alzheimer's disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VaD).

Utilizing from the Korean National Health Insurance Database (K-NHID), this retrospective cohort study included 43,561 patients with a history of MI but no prior dementia diagnosis, tracked from 2009 to 2018. Glycemic status was categorized into normoglycemia, impaired fasting glucose (IFG), new-onset DM, and established DM of durations < 5 and ≥ 5 years. The primary outcome was all-cause dementia.

During the median follow-up of 7.6 years, the incidence of dementia was 10.1%. Patients with established DM (≥ 5 years) exhibited a significantly higher risk of developing all-cause dementia compared to those with normoglycemia. The findings were consistent in both AD and VaD. Subgroup analyses revealed that younger patients (< 65 years) faced an even greater risk of dementia.

We found a significant association between the duration of DM and an elevated risk of all-cause dementia, along with AD and VaD in post-MI patients. Our findings highlight the importance of diabetes management in preserving brain health among patients with a history of myocardial infarction.