The effects of improved access to diabetes medications on risk of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias

INTRODUCTION: Diabetes is associated with elevated risk of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). Disease management with pharmaceutical therapies may mitigate this increased risk, but access and use of diabetes therapies are limited, especially for persons at highest risk of ADRD. METHODS: Using 10 years of data on Americans aged 51 and older with diabetes, we employed dynamic microsimulation to analyze the impact of increased utilization of glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP1s) and sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2s) on ADRD incidence. RESULTS: Over 10 years, utilization of GLP1s and SGLT2s by people with diabetes and HbA1c > 7 could avert 76,000-201,000 ADRD cases. The risk reduction is largest for Black and Hispanic individuals and individuals with HbA1c > 8. DISCUSSION: This study shows that improving diabetes management can lead to large reductions in ADRD risk. Improved adherence and access for those with higher HbA1c and higher risk of ADRD will have the largest benefit.