Risk for non-insulin-dependent diabetes in the normoglycaemic elderly is associated with impaired cognitive function.

We studied cognitive function in normoglycaemic elderly subjects at different risk levels for developing non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) and in patients with NIDDM. Risk for NIDDM was considered increased if both 2 h glucose and insulin values on oral glucose tolerance testing were higher than the median in normoglycaemic subjects, and low if the respective values were lower than the median. The increased risk group showed impairment on tests of immediate and delayed memory, attention, visuomotor speed and verbal fluency. Moreover, the increased risk group did not differ from patients with NIDDM on any cognitive tests. Our results suggest that increased risk for NIDDM is associated with widely affected cognitive function in the normoglycaemic elderly, highlighting the importance of healthy living habits.