PEOPLE who have even slightly elevated cholesterol when they are middle-aged have a higher risk of dementia later on, researchers reported.
The study of nearly 10,000 people found that those with high cholesterol in their 40s – a reading of 240 or higher – had a 66% higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease 40 years later.
People whose cholesterol was lower – 200 to 239 – had a 52% higher risk in old age than people with lower cholesterol levels, the team at the University of Kuopio in Finland and Kaiser Permanente’s Division of Research reported.
“Our study shows that even moderately high cholesterol levels in your 40s put people at greater risk for Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia decades later,” Rachel Whitmer of the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, California, said in a statement.
“Considering that nearly 100 million Americans have either high or borderline cholesterol levels, this is a disturbing finding.
“The good news here is that what is good for the heart is also good for the mind and this is an early risk factor for dementia that can be modified and managed by lowering cholesterol through healthy lifestyle changes.”
Exercise and healthy diet can help lower cholesterol, as can drugs.
The researchers said in the journal Dementia & Geriatric Cognitive Disorders that they recruited people aged 40 to 45 from 1964 to 1973 and followed up with them for some 40 years.
Over this time, 598 of them were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or vascular dementia between 1994 and 2007, when they were between 61 and 88 years old.
The study did not look at whether the high cholesterol levels caused the Alzheimer’s or whether controlling them with drugs might reduce the risk of developing dementia.
Two genes associated with cholesterol are also linked to Alzheimer’s and researchers have known there must be a link.
Other studies have suggested that statin drugs, which lower cholesterol, might lower the risk of Alzheimer’s, too, although this is not yet proven and the way it works is not clear.
Alzheimer’s, a mind-wasting condition for which there are few treatments and no cure, affects 26 million people globally.
Cholesterol, on the other hand, is a waxy, fat-like substance that is found in all cells of the body and in some of the foods you eat.
Our body needs some cholesterol to work the right way and it makes all the cholesterol it needs.
Our body uses cholesterol to make hormones, vitamin D, and substances that help us digest food.
Blood is watery and cholesterol, fatty. Just like oil and water, the two do not mix.
To travel in the bloodstream, cholesterol is carried in small packages called lipoproteins, which are made of fat (lipid) on the inside and proteins on the outside.
Two kinds of lipoproteins – low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) – carry cholesterol throughout our body. It is important to have healthy levels of both lipoproteins.
LDL cholesterol is sometimes called bad cholesterol because high levels of this lead to a buildup of cholesterol in the arteries. The higher the LDL level in our blood, the greater the chance we get heart disease.
HDL cholesterol, or good cholesterol, carries cholesterol from other parts of our body back to our liver which removes the cholesterol from our body. The higher our HDL cholesterol level, the lower our chance of getting heart disease.
High blood cholesterol on its own does not cause symptoms, so many people are unaware that their cholesterol level is high.
Cholesterol can build up in the walls of our arteries (blood vessels that carry blood from the heart to other parts of the body). This build-up is called plaque.
Over time, plaque can cause the narrowing of the arteries. This is called atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries.
Special arteries called coronary arteries bring blood to the heart. Narrowing of these arteries due to plaque can stop or slow down the flow of blood to our heart.
When the arteries narrow, the amount of oxygen-rich blood is decreased. This is called coronary heart disease (CHD).
Large plaque areas can lead to chest pain called angina. This happens when the heart does not receive enough oxygen-rich blood. Angina is a common symptom of CHD.
Some plaques have a thin covering and can burst (rupture), releasing cholesterol and fat into the bloodstream. This release may cause our blood to clot. A clot can block the flow of blood. This blockage can cause angina or a heart attack.
Lowering our cholesterol level not only decreases our chance of a plaque burst and heart attack but also slows down, reduces, or even stops plaque build-up. – Agencies
The study of nearly 10,000 people found that those with high cholesterol in their 40s – a reading of 240 or higher – had a 66% higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease 40 years later.
People whose cholesterol was lower – 200 to 239 – had a 52% higher risk in old age than people with lower cholesterol levels, the team at the University of Kuopio in Finland and Kaiser Permanente’s Division of Research reported.
“Our study shows that even moderately high cholesterol levels in your 40s put people at greater risk for Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia decades later,” Rachel Whitmer of the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, California, said in a statement.
“Considering that nearly 100 million Americans have either high or borderline cholesterol levels, this is a disturbing finding.
“The good news here is that what is good for the heart is also good for the mind and this is an early risk factor for dementia that can be modified and managed by lowering cholesterol through healthy lifestyle changes.”
Exercise and healthy diet can help lower cholesterol, as can drugs.
The researchers said in the journal Dementia & Geriatric Cognitive Disorders that they recruited people aged 40 to 45 from 1964 to 1973 and followed up with them for some 40 years.
Over this time, 598 of them were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or vascular dementia between 1994 and 2007, when they were between 61 and 88 years old.
The study did not look at whether the high cholesterol levels caused the Alzheimer’s or whether controlling them with drugs might reduce the risk of developing dementia.
Two genes associated with cholesterol are also linked to Alzheimer’s and researchers have known there must be a link.
Other studies have suggested that statin drugs, which lower cholesterol, might lower the risk of Alzheimer’s, too, although this is not yet proven and the way it works is not clear.
Alzheimer’s, a mind-wasting condition for which there are few treatments and no cure, affects 26 million people globally.
Cholesterol, on the other hand, is a waxy, fat-like substance that is found in all cells of the body and in some of the foods you eat.
Our body needs some cholesterol to work the right way and it makes all the cholesterol it needs.
Our body uses cholesterol to make hormones, vitamin D, and substances that help us digest food.
Blood is watery and cholesterol, fatty. Just like oil and water, the two do not mix.
To travel in the bloodstream, cholesterol is carried in small packages called lipoproteins, which are made of fat (lipid) on the inside and proteins on the outside.
Two kinds of lipoproteins – low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) – carry cholesterol throughout our body. It is important to have healthy levels of both lipoproteins.
LDL cholesterol is sometimes called bad cholesterol because high levels of this lead to a buildup of cholesterol in the arteries. The higher the LDL level in our blood, the greater the chance we get heart disease.
HDL cholesterol, or good cholesterol, carries cholesterol from other parts of our body back to our liver which removes the cholesterol from our body. The higher our HDL cholesterol level, the lower our chance of getting heart disease.
High blood cholesterol on its own does not cause symptoms, so many people are unaware that their cholesterol level is high.
Cholesterol can build up in the walls of our arteries (blood vessels that carry blood from the heart to other parts of the body). This build-up is called plaque.
Over time, plaque can cause the narrowing of the arteries. This is called atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries.
Special arteries called coronary arteries bring blood to the heart. Narrowing of these arteries due to plaque can stop or slow down the flow of blood to our heart.
When the arteries narrow, the amount of oxygen-rich blood is decreased. This is called coronary heart disease (CHD).
Large plaque areas can lead to chest pain called angina. This happens when the heart does not receive enough oxygen-rich blood. Angina is a common symptom of CHD.
Some plaques have a thin covering and can burst (rupture), releasing cholesterol and fat into the bloodstream. This release may cause our blood to clot. A clot can block the flow of blood. This blockage can cause angina or a heart attack.
Lowering our cholesterol level not only decreases our chance of a plaque burst and heart attack but also slows down, reduces, or even stops plaque build-up. – Agencies
