Is a loved one at risk of developing diabetes

Caregivers, and healthcare professionals,here is some great information

Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professionals,

Your residents will love the Amazon Kindle Fire

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here is a way for nurses administrators, social workers and other health care  professionals to get an easyceu or two

Follow alzheimersideas on twitter
The Dementia Caregiver's Little Book of Hope [Kindle Edition]

Newsmax

Many in long term care are at risk to develop diabetes

Here are ways to help them

The Type 2 diabetes tide remains unchecked in the United States, as does pre-diabetes -- having a blood sugar level higher than normal, but not high enough for a diabetes diagnosis.
A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report found that about 30 million Americans -- roughly 10 percent of the population -- have Type 2 diabetes. What's more, over 80 million have pre-diabetes, which, if not treated, often leads to diabetes within five years.

But there is a way to control and reverse this alarming trend, according to a multi-year National Institutes of Health (NIH) study. In fact, the study revealed how to reduce your risk of diabetes by 58 percent.

Diabetes puts people at risk of heart and blood vessel disease, nerve damage, and kidney and eye damage, among other health threats. And while Type 2 diabetes is more common among certain ethnic and racial groups -- including American Indians, Alaska Natives, African Americans and people of Hispanic descent -- no one is immune. And though you can't change your heritage, you can change diabetes risk factors like carrying too much weight and being sedentary.

A multi-year NIH study of more than 3,000 overweight or obese adults with blood sugar at pre-diabetes levels found that lifestyle changes can have a profound effect\

What you eat counts, too. Focusing on fruits and vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy cuts Type 2 diabetes risk. By contrast, eating a lot of refined grains (like baked goods made with white flour and white rice), processed meats and added sugars increases it. So aim to rebalance your diet.

Finally, rethink your drink. One very simple step is to cut out sugar-sweetened beverages. Sodas and similar drinks may lead not only to Type 2 diabetes, but also to overweight and more belly fat, in particular.

© HealthDay

Dementia risk is higher if you have.....

Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professinals,

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here is a way for nurses administrators, social workers and other health care professionals to get an easyceu or two

Follow Alzheimers1 on twitter

HealthDay News -- Patients with diabetes who have comorbid depression are at increased risk for developing dementia compared with those with diabetes alone, study results indicate.

"Given that depression is potentially modifiable, future studies are needed to further evaluate whether effective depression interventions reduce the risk of dementia and identify the mechanisms that may explain our observation," Wayne Katon, MD, from the University of Washington in Seattle, and colleagues wrote in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

They surveyed a random sample of 19,239 patients with type 2 diabetes, aged 30 to 75 years, from the Diabetes and Aging Study to identify prevalent cases of depression. Dementia diagnoses were identified based on International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision-clinical modification [ICD-9-CM] criteria three to five years post-baseline to ensure that depression was not a prodrome of dementia. The researchers then estimated dementia risk for patients with depression and diabetes relative to patients with diabetes alone using Cox proportional hazard regression models adjusted for sociodemographic, clinical, risk factors and healthcare use.

One or more dementia diagnosis occurred in 2.1% of 3,766 patients with diabetes and comorbid depression, and in 1% of the 15,473 patients with diabetes alone (incidence rate=5.5 and 2.6 per 1,000 person-years, respectively), the researchers found. A 100% increased risk of dementia was observed in patients with comorbid depression (adjusted HR=2.02).

Previous studies have associated depression with poorer adherence to diet and exercise regimens, increased rates of cigarette smoking and higher HbA1c levels, according to the researchers, which could "worsen the course of diabetes and increase the risk of dementia associated with depression."

However, controlling for these potential confounding factors did not significantly change the risk for dementia among these patients. "These data suggest that biologic factors associated with depression may be important risk factors for dementia in patients with type 2 diabetes," the researchers wrote. They called for more studies to further examine potential mechanisms of action.

One of the study researchers disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

Katon W et al. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2011; doi:10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2011.154.

Middle-age smoking, high blood pressure and diabetes raise dementia risk

Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professinals,

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here are more interesting dementia activities


d

McKnights

Those who smoke, or suffer from hypertension or diabetes during their middle-age years have a higher risk of developing dementia later, according to a new study.

Current smokers were 70% more likely than those who had never smoked to develop dementia. People with high blood pressure were 60% more likely than those without high blood pressure to develop dementia. People with diabetes were more than twice as likely as those without diabetes to experience cognitive impairment, the study found. Investigators studied more than 11,000 people who were part of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study. Participants were aged 46 to 70 years. Patients were followed up for more than a decade to see how many would later develop dementia.

Overall, blacks had a......read all of raising dementia risk