Structural alterations of the central nervous system are demonstrated in people with diabetes. We aimed to characterise areas of global and anatomical grey matter volumes using T1-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) brain imaging (3-T MR imaging machine) in participants from the UK Biobank dataset. Participants with diabetes (DM) (n=569) and people without diabetes (CON) (n=20,801) were analysed. The mean age of DM diagnosis was 49.5±15 years. Baseline demographic and anthropometric data are as follows: DM group included more men (DM: 65% vs. CON: 47%) but were of a similar age (DM: 57.6±7.1 vs. CON: 55±7.5 years). BMI (DM: 29.6±5.2 vs. CON: 26.5±4.2 kgm2; p<0.0001) and systolic blood pressure (DM: 141±17 vs. CON: 137±19mmHg; p<0.0001) were higher in DM compared to CON with no difference in diastolic blood pressure (DM: 82±10 vs. CON: 81±10mmHg; p=NS). The majority of participants in both groups were right-handed (DM: 88.9%, CON: 89.1%) with a minority reporting ambidexterity (DM: 2.1%, CON: 1.5%). When comparing grey matter volume of DM vs. CON: peripheral cortical grey matter (corrected for head size) (599002±41503mm3 vs. 621942±40421mm3; p<0.0001), superior frontal gyrus (left: 10715±1695mm3 vs. 11056±1766mm3; p=0.001; right: 9279±1513mm3 vs. 9608±1612mm3; p<0.0001), left middle frontal gyrus (9894±1721mm3 vs. 10082±1786mm3; p=0.035), right anterior division of the supramarginal gyrus (3061±598mm3 vs. 3143±614mm3; p=0.001), right posterior supramarginal gyrus (5337±1052mm3 vs. 5476±1035mm3; p=0.002), paracingulate gyrus (left: 5558±866mm3 vs. 5749±856mm3; p=0.0006; right: 5456±845mm3 vs. 5700±852mm3; p<0.0001), precentral gyrus (left: 13712±1717mm3 vs. 14065±1748mm3; p=0.04; right: 13294±1652 vs. 13711±1731 p<0.0001) and left postcentral gyrus (10905±1481mm3 vs. 11313±1492mm3; p=0.0008) were all lower in DM compared to CON. People with diabetes have a significant reduction in global grey matter volume in distinct brain regions as previously described in the literature.

Disclosure

J. Burgess: None. S. S. Keller: None. I. N. Petropoulos: None. D. Selvarajah: None. S. Tesfaye: Advisory Panel; Self; Angellini, Bayer AG, Eva Pharma, Wörwag Pharma, Speaker's Bureau; Self; Abbott, AstraZeneca, Grunenthal Group, MSD Corporation, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer Inc. U. Alam: None.

© 2021 by the American Diabetes Association
2021
Readers may use this article as long as the work is properly cited, the use is educational and not for profit, and the work is not altered. More information is available at http://www.diabetesjournals.org/content/license.