141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

293620
Diabetes and dementia: The concept of attributable risk in the Honolulu heart program/Honolulu-asia aging study

Monday, November 4, 2013

Vanessa Cunanan, MPH , Department of Public Health Sciences, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI
Andrew Grandinetti, PhD , Department of Public Health Sciences, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI
Background: Diabetes and dementia are two of the most prevalent and health-impairing conditions of the elderly. Pathophysiologically, diabetes is a likely risk factor for dementia; however, studies on the association of diabetes and dementia show conflicting results. Objectives and methods: The objectives of this presentation are: 1) to review the literature on the association of diabetes and dementia; 2) to compare previously published data (from 2002) with updated data from the Honolulu Heart Program/Honolulu-Asia Aging Study (a cohort study of 2697 Japanese-American men) on the relative risk of total dementia, Alzheimer's disease, and vascular dementia related to diabetes; 3) to calculate the population attributable risk of dementia attributable to diabetes based on this data; and, 4) to discuss potential implications of this attributable risk. Results: The relative risks for total dementia, Alzheimer's disease, and vascular dementia in this new study were 1.16, 1.00, and 1.68, respectively; compared with 1.5, 1.8, and 2.3 from the previous study. Population attributable risks from this new study were 4.5%, 0%, and 16.5% (again, compared with 14.9%, 21.9%, and 31.3% calculated from the previous study). Discussion: It is noteworthy that, relative to previously published data, the prevalence of all types of dementia are elevated in this new study (as would be expected with increasing age) and it is possible that the differences in risk related to diabetes tend to equalize with advancing age.

Learning Areas:
Epidemiology

Learning Objectives:
Explain the association of diabetes with dementia. Compare previously published data with updated data from the Honolulu Heart Program/Honolulu-Asia Aging Study. Analyze the population attributable risk of dementia attributable to diabetes.

Keywords: Dementia, Diabetes

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a doctoral student in epidemiology and I fully conceptualized, designed, analyzed, interpreted, and reported the data in the submitted abstract.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.