Type 2 diabetes<\/a>\u00a0face an increased risk of cognitive decline and dementia. Elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), which is common amongst people with diabetes, has also been identified as a potentially modifiable risk factor for dementia.\u00a0<\/p>\nResearchers therefore investigated whether the timing of statin treatment following Type 2 diabetes diagnosis was associated with\u00a0subsequent\u00a0dementia risk.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Using nationwide Danish health registers, the researchers\u00a0identified\u00a0132,585 statin-na\u00efve individuals who developed Type 2 diabetes between 2006\u00a0and\u00a02019. Participants were followed until dementia diagnosis, death, emigration, or the end of 2021.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Three treatment strategies were compared;\u00a0no statin initiation within 5 years of diabetes diagnosis, early initiation within 1 year, and later initiation between 1 and 5 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Researchers used a clone-censor weighting approach designed to emulate a clinical trial and reduce some of the biases associated with observational research.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Earlier Treatment Associated with Greatest Reduction\u00a0<\/p>\n
During a median follow-up of 7.1 years, 3,592 participants, or 2.7%, developed dementia.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The estimated 10-year absolute risk of dementia was 3.9% amongst people who did not\u00a0initiate\u00a0statins, compared with 3.3% amongst those who started treatment within 1 year of their diabetes diagnosis.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Early statin initiation was associated with a 15% lower relative risk of dementia over 10 years compared with no statin treatment. This corresponded to an absolute risk reduction of 0.59%.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Later initiation was associated with a smaller, but still significant, reduction in risk. Participants who began statins between 1 and 5 years after diagnosis had an estimated 10-year dementia risk of 3.5%,\u00a0representing\u00a0a 10% lower relative risk and an absolute risk reduction of 0.38% compared with no initiation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The researchers also reported that the findings were similar in women and men.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Could Earlier Treatment Support Dementia Prevention?\u00a0<\/p>\n
The findings suggest that\u00a0timely\u00a0management of elevated LDL-C following Type 2 diabetes diagnosis could potentially have benefits beyond\u00a0established\u00a0cardiovascular disease prevention.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Statins are already widely used to lower LDL-C and reduce the risk of cardiovascular events in people with diabetes. The new findings raise the possibility that earlier treatment could additionally contribute to reducing long-term dementia risk.\u00a0<\/p>\n
However, the study was observational and cannot\u00a0establish\u00a0that statin therapy directly prevents dementia. Although the researchers used statistical methods designed to reduce biases and emulate a randomised trial, unmeasured differences between people who did and did not receive statins could still have influenced the findings.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The authors therefore emphasise the need for clinical trial evidence to confirm the association.\u00a0Nevertheless, the findings suggest that the timing of statin treatment may be important\u00a0and should be further researched.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Reference\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ternhamar\u00a0T\u00a0et al. Association between timing of statin treatment after diabetes diagnosis and risk of dementia: a nationwide observational study. Lancet Reg Health Eur. 2026;101814.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
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