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Diabetes as a risk factor for dementia and mild cognitive impairment: a meta-analysis of longitudinal studies
Cheng G, Huang C, Deng H, Wang H.. Internal medicine journal, 2012-05-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
This study examined the association of diabetes with the onset of dementia (including Alzheimer's disease (AD), vascular dementia (VD) and any dementia) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) by using a quantitative meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. EMBASE and MEDLINE were searched for articles published up to December 2010. All studies that examined the relationship between diabetes and the onset of dementia or MCI were included. Pooled relative risks were calculated using fixed and random effects models. Nineteen studies met our inclusion criteria for this meta-analysis, and 6184 subjects with diabetes and 38 530 subjects without diabetes were included respectively. All subjects were without dementia or MCI at baseline. The quantitative meta-analysis showed that subjects with diabetes had higher risk for AD (relative risk (RR):1.46, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.20-1.77), VD (RR: 2.48, 95% CI: 2.08-2.96), any dementia (RR: 1.51, 95% CI: 1.31-1.74) and MCI (RR: 1.21, 95% CI: 1.02-1.45) than those without. The quantitative meta-analysis showed that diabetes was a risk factor for incident dementia (including AD, VD and any dementia) and MCI.
Key findings
- The quantitative meta-analysis showed that subjects with diabetes had higher risk for AD (relative risk (RR):1.46, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.20-1.77), VD (RR: 2.48, 95% CI: 2.08-2.96), any dementia (RR: 1.51, 95% CI: 1.31-1.74) and MCI (RR: 1.21, 95% CI: 1.02-1.45) than those without.
- The quantitative meta-analysis showed that diabetes was a risk factor for incident dementia (including AD, VD and any dementia) and MCI.
Why it matters
This meta-analysis of 19 longitudinal studies found that people with diabetes had higher risk of Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, any dementia, and mild cognitive impairment than those without diabetes. It identifies diabetes as a risk factor, not a treatment, cure, or prevention.
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Study details
- Study designmeta-analysis
- Participants6,184
- Effect sizeRR: 2.48; RR: 1.51; RR: 1.21
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 75/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a meta-analysis pooling many studies. We have no data on senior author's track record, so that was left out: it earned 72 of the 96 points we could judge it on, which is 75 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Internal medicine journal) |
| Journal's citation record | 1 / 4 | Internal Medicine Journal: journal h-index 99 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 12 / 12 | A meta-analysis pooling many studies |
| Strength of evidence | 5 / 5 | Rated “high” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2012 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 3 / 4 | 6,184 participants |
| Effect reported | 3 / 3 | Effect reported with a statistic (interval, p-value, ratio or similar) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | A review of other studies — randomisation is not credited here |
| Times cited | 7 / 7 | Cited 1,038 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 5 / 5 | 64.9 citations a year over 16 year(s) since 2012 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 33.3× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 4 / 6 | Cited by 35 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 192 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | OpenAlex's profile for last-listed author H. Wang holds only 1 work(s), too few to judge a track record — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | 0 / 3 | Chongqing Medical University: institution h-index 359 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 22372522) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 72 / 96 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 72 of the 96 points we could judge it on is 75 out of 100. |
| Total | 75 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1111/j.1445-5994.2012.02758.x
- PubMed: 22372522
- Original source →
- Free full text: Internal Medicine Journal →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Cheng, G., Huang, C., Deng, H., & Wang, H. (2012). Diabetes as a risk factor for dementia and mild cognitive impairment: a meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. Internal medicine journal. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1445-5994.2012.02758.x
Vancouver
Cheng G, Huang C, Deng H, Wang H. Diabetes as a risk factor for dementia and mild cognitive impairment: a meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. Internal medicine journal. 2012. doi:10.1111/j.1445-5994.2012.02758.x. PMID: 22372522.
BibTeX
@article{cheng2012-22372522,
author = {Cheng, G. and Huang, C. and Deng, H. and Wang, H.},
title = {{Diabetes as a risk factor for dementia and mild cognitive impairment: a meta-analysis of longitudinal studies}},
journal = {Internal medicine journal},
year = {2012},
doi = {10.1111/j.1445-5994.2012.02758.x},
pmid = {22372522},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1445-5994.2012.02758.x}
}
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