This study looked at how changes in blood sugar levels over time (known as glucose variability) might affect thinking and memory, especially as people get older. Researchers studied over 4,000 racially and ethnically diverse adults, tracking their blood sugar patterns across multiple clinical visits and assessing their thinking and memory abilities using cognitive tests.
Researchers found that greater fluctuations in blood sugar levels were linked to worse cognitive performance, even after accounting for other health factors. Among participants who developed type 2 diabetes during the study, these fluctuations were also associated with small but noticeable declines in memory and mental sharpness over time. Interestingly, single blood sugar measurements weren’t as good at predicting these changes as glucose variability. This means that keeping blood sugar levels steady over time, especially for those at risk for diabetes, might help protect brain health as we age.
The researchers are hoping to understand this relationship in more detail by using data from continuous glucose monitors (like the one pictured here), which measures dozens of additional ways that blood sugar changes in day to day life. The first results from the continuous glucose monitor data will be available soon.
More information on maintaining blood sugar levels can be found here: https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/diabetes/overview/healthy-living-with-diabetes
Source: Schaich CL, Bancks MP, Hayden KM, Ding J, Rapp SR, Bertoni AG, Heckbert SR, Hughes TM, Mongraw-Chaffin M. Visit-to-Visit Glucose Variability, Cognition, and Global Cognitive Decline: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2023;109(1):e243-e252. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10735301/