Identifying potential patients with diabetes-related dementia: a descriptive approach using routinely collected data

Diabetes-related dementia (DRD) is a new dementia subtype associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus, first described in 2013. This study investigated data from a local New Zealand memory service to identify patients that met the criteria for DRD. Using routinely collected data from 2013-2021, we selected a sample of people with dementia, diabetes, and no CT evidence of Alzheimer's disease (AD), vascular dementia, or frontotemporal dementia. We compared their socio-demographic, clinical, and cognitive characteristics with a sample of patients with diabetes and Alzheimer's disease. Forty (16%) of 249 patients with diabetes and dementia had "normal" CT scans (DRD subgroup), and 38 (15%) had AD (AD subgroup). Compared to NZ Europeans, disproportionally more Māori and Pacific Islanders (70.2%) were in the DRD subgroup. In the Pacific subgroup (n=31), the DRD subgroup had higher memory subscores than the AD subgroup (p=0.047), and the Kaplan-Meier plot suggested poorer survival (p=0.13). Māori patients with diabetes and dementia were more likely to meet all four criteria for DRD. We have replicated the findings of the 2013 DRD research and have demonstrated a higher risk for the DRD subtype of dementia among the Māori and Pacific Islander patients in our sample.