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. 2024 Jun 13:3:1418037.
doi: 10.3389/frdem.2024.1418037. eCollection 2024.

A systematic review of the impact of type 2 diabetes on brain cortical thickness

Mahboubeh Motaghi  1   2 , Olivier Potvin  2 , Simon Duchesne  2   3
Affiliations

A systematic review of the impact of type 2 diabetes on brain cortical thickness

Mahboubeh Motaghi et al. Front Dement. .

Abstract

Introduction: Type 2 diabetes (T2D) has been linked to cognitive impairment and dementia, but its impact on brain cortical structures in individuals prior to or without cognitive impairment remains unclear.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review of 2,331 entries investigating cerebral cortical thickness changes in T2D individuals without cognitive impairment, 55 of which met our inclusion criteria.

Results: Most studies (45/55) reported cortical brain atrophy and reduced thickness in the anterior cingulate, temporal, and frontal lobes between T2D and otherwise cognitively healthy controls. However, the balance of studies (10/55) reported no significant differences in either cortical or total brain volumes. A few reports also noticed changes in the occipital cortex and its gyri. As part of the reports, less than half of studies (18/55) described a correlation between T2D and hippocampal atrophy. Variability in sample characteristics, imaging methods, and software could affect findings on T2D and cortical atrophy.

Discussion: In conclusion, T2D appears linked to reduced cortical thickness, possibly impacting cognition and dementia risk. Microvascular disease and inflammation in T2D may also contribute to this risk. Further research is needed to understand the underlying mechanisms and brain health implications.

Keywords: brain morphometry; cerebral cortical thickness; cognitive decline; cortical brain atrophy; microvascular disease; type 2 diabetes (T2D).

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA Flow chart of the study selection procedure.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Brain structures affected in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients compared with healthy controls. The color intensity in each region is related to the citation frequency, with darker shades suggesting higher mentions in the literature of a statistically significant T2D impact when compared to otherwise healthy controls. Darker colors signify brain regions more frequently cited as affected in T2D patients, while lighter Colors indicate brain regions less reported or cited in T2D studies. The color intensity is scaled from 0 to 1. A value of 0 represents brain regions not cited in any study, while a value of 1 signifies a region affected in all studies on T2D.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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Grants and funding

The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. MM was supported in part by a grant from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research to SD (PJT-159778).

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