The Sweet Pathway to Neurodegenerative Disease: An Analysis of Research Literature Trends on the Links between Type 2 Diabetes and Alzheimer's Disease – a Meta-Analysis

This meta-study analyzes the shift in research literature that focuses on the various shared causes of type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease from the years 2000 to 2022. Examining literature trends over the past two decades can offer valuable insight into the evolving emphasis on various topics. Altogether, a total of 154 publications were collected from the Pubmed and ResearchGate databases using a non-biased protocol and methodology. Each paper was then categorized by the topics it discussed. Visual representation of the data such as bar graphs and tables were created to comprehend the trends presented in the group of papers. The collection of publications were then differentiated into years of early (prior to 2005 or 2010) and late (after 2006 or 2011) periods to perform a statistical analysis of the patterns in the timeline. The increase in publications discussing Alzheimer’s disease, amyloid beta deposition, gut microbiota, mitochondrial dysfunction, type 2 diabetes, and tau hyperphosphorylation from the early to the late period were statistically significant. This means that the increase was not due to random chance, but rather supported by evidence. This can be attributed to researchers and physicians discovering more evidence that establishes a link between specific factors, type 2 diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease. This reflects a genuine acknowledgment of the importance of understanding and addressing the relationship between these two pathologies. Research in the trends of literature can provide information in which areas of research are the most studied or understudied. Based on these findings, the identification of areas with limited knowledge and potential research directions can be inferred, ultimately leading to the enhancement of preventive measures and therapeutic approaches for these conditions.