A Type 2 diabetes diagnosis before age 50 comes with a health risk that patients might not expect.

Especially if they are obese, these folks are more likely to develop dementia later, new research warns.

"Our study suggests that there may be a cognitive consequences to earlier onset Type 2 diabetes, and it points to the need for strategies to prevent dementia that consider both diabetes and obesity," said first study author Xiang Qi, an assistant professor at NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing, in New York City.

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Type 2 diabetes used to be a disease of older adults. These days, 1 in 5 people around the world with Type 2 diabetes are under the age of 40. 

In Type 2, patients don't use insulin properly. Sometimes, their pancreas is also not making enough insulin to keep their blood sugar levels within a normal range.

While it's not clear why Type 2 diabetes is a risk factor for dementia, scientists speculate that high blood sugar, inflammation and other markers of the disease may foster brain decline.

"Prior studies show that people diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in mid-life may experience more vascular complications, poor blood sugar control and insulin resistance — all of which are known risk factors for cognitive impairment," said senior study author Bei Wu, vice dean for research at NYU Meyers.

To learn more, Wu, Qi and their team analyzed data collected between 2002 and 216 for study of 1,213 patients age 50 and over with Type 2 diabetes and no dementia. They were followed for up to 14 years.

Over that time, follow-up interviews found that 17.8% developed dementia, the study found.

Compared to patients whose Type 2 diabetes was diagnosed at 70 years of age or later, those diagnosed before age 50 were 1.9 times as likely to develop dementia. Those diagnosed in their 50s were 1.72 times as likely and those diagnosed in their 60s were 1.7 times as likely to have a dementia diagnosis.

For each year younger a person was when their Type 2 diabetes was diagnosed, their dementia risk rose 1.9%, the study found.

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The risk was highest among individuals with obesity whose Type 2 was diagnosed before age 50, the data showed.

The findings were recently published in the journal PLOS ONE.

"Our study highlights the importance of one's age at diabetes diagnosis and suggests that specifically targeting obesity -- whether through diet and exercise or perhaps medication — may play a role in staving off dementia in younger adults with diabetes," Wu said in the news release.