Relationship Between Fasting Blood Glucose Levels in Middle Age and Cognitive Function in Later Life: The Aichi Workers’ Cohort Study

• Published in: Journal of Epidemiology Vol. 33; no. 2; pp. 76 - 81
• Main Authors: Shimoda, Masako, Kaneko, Kayo, Nakagawa, Takeshi, Kawano, Naoko, Otsuka, Rei, Ota, Atsuhiko, Naito, Hisao, Matsunaga, Masaaki, Ichino, Naohiro, Yamada, Hiroya, Chiang, Chifa, Hirakawa, Yoshihisa, Tamakoshi, Koji, Aoyama, Atsuko, Yatsuya, Hiroshi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan Japan Epidemiological Association 05.02.2023
• Subjects: Age; Blood Glucose; Blood pressure; Body mass; Body mass index; Body size; Cholesterol; Cognition; Cognitive ability; cognitive assessment; Cohort analysis; Cohort Studies; Diabetes Mellitus; Fasting; fasting blood glucose; Glomerular filtration rate; Glucose; Humans; Impairment; Independent variables; Japan - epidemiology; Local government; Middle age; Middle Aged; Original; Physical activity; Prediabetic State; Public Health; Japan; fasting blood glucose; cognitive assessment; diabetes mellitus; middle aged
• ISSN: 0917-5040; 1349-9092
• DOI: 10.2188/jea.JE20210128

Background: There is limited evidence regarding the relationship between Diabetes mellitus (DM) in middle age and mild cognitive impairment after a follow-up. Therefore, we investigated the relationship between fasting blood glucose (FBG) levels in middle age and cognitive function assessed using the Japanese version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA-J) in later life, following over 15 years of follow-up in the Aichi Workers’ Cohort Study in Japan.Methods: Participants were 253 former local government employees aged 60–79 years in 2018 who participated in a baseline survey conducted in 2002. Using baseline FBG levels and self-reported history, participants were classified into the normal, impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and, and DM groups. Total MoCA-J score ranges from 0 to 30, and cognitive impairment was defined as MoCA-J score ≤25 in this study. A general linear model was used to estimate the mean MoCA-J scores in the FBG groups, adjusted for age, sex, educational year, smoking status, alcohol consumption, physical activity, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, and estimated glomerular filtration rate.Results: The mean MoCA-J score in the total population was 25.0, and the prevalence of MoCA-J score ≤25 was 49.0%. Multivariable-adjusted total MoCA-J scores were 25.2, 24.8, and 23.4 in the normal, IFG, and DM groups, respectively. The odds ratio of MoCA-J score ≤25 in the DM group was 3.29.Conclusion: FBG level in middle age was negatively associated with total MoCA-J scores assessed later in life, independent of confounding variables.