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Article: Hypoglycemia linked to dementia: severe low blood sugar episodes might heighten risk later.(Body & Brain)
- Article from:
- Science News
- Article date:
- May 9, 2009
- Author:
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A single episode of low blood sugar severe enough to require prompt medical attention increases a person's risk of developing dementia in old age, a study in people with diabetes suggests. More than one bout of hypoglycemia seems to heighten the risk even further, researchers report in the April 15 Journal of the American Medical Association.
Chronically high blood sugar is known to increase the risk of dementia, but less is known about the long-term effects of periodic low blood sugar, says study coauthor Rachel Whitmer of the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, Calif.
She and her colleagues analyzed medical records dating from 1980 to ...