Significant changes in glucose levels precede dementia in African-American patients with diabetes but not in Caucasians, a recent study found. A secondary data analysis using electronic medical records from 5,228 African-Americans and Caucasians aged ≥65 years was carried out. Mixed effects models with repeated serum glucose measurements were used to compare changes in glucose levels between African-Americans and Caucasian patients with and without incident dementia. Researchers found:

• African-Americans and Caucasians with diabetes had significantly different changes in glucose levels by dementia status.
• African-Americans experienced a significant decline in glucose levels before the dementia diagnosis (estimated glucose decline 1.3421 mg/dL per year) than those who did not develop dementia.
• Caucasians with and without dementia showed stable glucose levels over time.