New research shows that high cholesterol levels in middle-aged people are associated with an increased risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease more than a decade later.
High levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) are associated with an increased risk of disease.
The researchers said that although elevated total cholesterol levels are also associated with increased risk, the link is weak, indicating that it is mainly driven by low-density lipoprotein cholesterol.
The study provides the strongest evidence to date for the relationship between blood cholesterol and dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.it is from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), University of Tsukuba, Japan And OXON Epidemiology, London and Madrid.
The research leader, Dr. Nawab Qizilbash, is a senior clinical epidemiologist in OXON epidemiology and an honorary associate professor of LSHTM pharmacological epidemiology.
Most known risk factors are difficult to modify, and there is very little convincing evidence that their modification can prevent dementia or Alzheimer’s disease
He said: “Although the link between LDL cholesterol and dementia and Alzheimer’s disease is not great, and it has been found in people who have been followed up for more than 10 years from middle-age For sexual diseases, any changeable risk factors are welcome.
“Most known risk factors are difficult to modify, and there is very little convincing evidence that modifying these factors can prevent dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.
“Similarly, long-term follow-up (over 10 years) of randomized and non-randomized studies is needed to evaluate whether the benefits of interventions to lower LDL cholesterol (significantly reducing coronary heart disease) can further reduce the risk of dementia or Alzheimer’s sick.”
With funding from Alzheimer’s Disease in the United Kingdom, the researchers used anonymous data from the Clinical Practice Research Database (CPRD) in the United Kingdom, involving more than 1.8 million British adults.
They were all over 40 years old and had blood cholesterol measurements between 1992 and 2009, and the follow-up period was up to 23 years or until the diagnosis of dementia.
In this study, which is considered to be the largest of its kind, the researchers were able to calculate the risk of subsequent dementia and Alzheimer’s disease to total blood cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and glycerol. Triesters are adjusted and adjusted for other factors.
Researchers focused on blood cholesterol measurements in middle-aged people (under 65 years of age) with fewer diseases.
Our research pales in comparison to all previous studies in scale and provides very precise results
A follow-up period of more than 10 years means that they can avoid prejudice caused by long-term silent periods where pathology is present but clinical symptoms are absent or ambiguous.
Among the 953,635 people with LDL cholesterol records in the study, 2.3% (21,602 people) were diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.
When more than 1.8 million people had their first total cholesterol reading, nearly 50,000 (2.7%) had a follow-up diagnosis during the 23-year follow-up period (as of 2015).
Studies have found that this association is weaker in people who measure blood cholesterol after the age of 65.
No consistent association of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol or triglycerides was observed.
Lead author, Dr. Masao Iwagami, Assistant Professor at the University of Tsukuba and Associate Professor Emeritus of LSHTM Epidemiology and Population Health, said: “Our study pales in comparison with all previous studies in scale and provides very precise results.
“For people whose cholesterol measurements are less than 65 years old, the risk of being diagnosed with dementia after 10 years is about 60% milligrams higher than those with an LDL cholesterol level of less than 100 mg/dL (5.17 mmol/L) /Deciliter (2.6 mmoles/liter).
“The strength of this association is comparable to other modifiable risk factors, such as alcohol consumption and greater than blood pressure.”
The authors acknowledge the limitations of the study, including the lack of information about diet or physical activity, so it is impossible to assess the effect of these factors on blood cholesterol and how it affects the observed association.
The research was published in The Lancet Health and Longevity.
