Association between hospital-treated infectious diseases and risk of neurodegenerative disease among patients with prediabetes and diabetes: A prospective cohort study in UK Biobank

Abstract

Background

Previous evidence suggests that infectious diseases may contribute to the development of neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs) while individuals with hyperglycemia may be at increased risk for both infection and NDDs due to dysregulated inflammation levels. This study aimed to examine the association between hospital-treated infectious diseases and the risk of NDDs among patients with prediabetes and diabetes and whether the associations differed by the number of infections and potential effect modifiers.

Study Design and Method

Using data from the UK Biobank, we conducted a prospective study involving 69,731 individuals, consisting of 48,149 participants with prediabetes and 21,582 participants with diabetes. Hospital-treated infectious diseases and NDDs were identified through record linkage to Health Episode Statistics and the Scottish Morbidity Records. Cox regression models were applied to assess the association between hospital-treated infectious diseases and the risk of developing NDDs, and to evaluate the trend of this association in relation to the number of infections. The modification effects by age, sex, smoking status, alcohol consumption, sleep duration, body mass index (BMI), glycated hemoglobin (HbA_1c) levels, comorbidities, and diabetes medication use were investigated.

Results

Over a median follow-up of 10.75 years, 1,867 participants (2.57 per 1,000 person­years) were diagnosed with NDDs. We found hospital-treated infectious diseases were significantly associated with an increased risk of NDDs among both individuals with prediabetes or diabetes (adjusted HR [aHR] 3.11, 95 % CI 2.83–3.42). Specifically, hospital-treated infectious diseases were associated with a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, all-cause dementia, Parkinson’s disease, and multiple sclerosis. Moreover, a greater number of infection diagnoses was associated with a higher risk of NDDs. Consistent associations between infection and an increased risk of NDDs were observed, regardless of factors representing age, sex, lifestyle, and diabetes severity.

Conclusions

Hospital-treated infectious diseases were significantly associated with the risk of NDDs in individuals with diabetes and prediabetes, with similar associations observed for bacterial and viral infections. These findings emphasize the importance of implementing infection prevention strategies and monitoring of infectious comorbidities in the management of NDDs among patients with prediabetes and diabetes.