Brain atrophy on computerized axial tomography scans: interaction of age, diabetes and general morbidity.

We evaluated, retrospectively, the occurrence of brain atrophy in all patients (n = 416) with a brain CT scan performed during a 3-month period in 1989 at the Tampere University Central Hospital. Age, diabetes, hypertension, chronic cerebrovascular disorders and an increasing number of medications were associated with brain atrophy in the log-linear models. We suggest that the effect of various systemic medical disorders on the brain requires consideration when evaluating and assessing physiological ageing of the brain.