05 October 2023 , 12:38
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People who have "good" levels of cholesterol may be at an increased risk of dementia, according to a new study.
Researchers have discovered that people with high or low high-density lipoprotein, or HDL cholesterol, could be at risk of the disease in older adults. The study, which was published on Wednesday, found more evidence that maintaining HDL cholesterol within a certain range is imperative for brain and heart health. The results showed a correlation between HDL cholesterol and dementia but did not conclude that low or high levels directly caused dementia.
“The relationship between HDL cholesterol and dementia is more complex than we previously thought," said the study’s lead author, Erin Ferguson, a doctoral student studying epidemiology at the University of California San Francisco. "While the magnitude of this relationship is relatively small, it’s important.”
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The study was backed by the National Institute on Aging and the National Institutes of Health and included more than 184,000 adults with an average age of 70. They were all dementia-free when the study started, as researchers used a mixture of surveys and electronics to track cholesterol levels and health behaviours, Abd to check whether someone developed dementia in the 13-year period.
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According to the study, the average HDL cholesterol level was 53.7 mg/dL, which is within the recommended range of 40 mg/dL in men and 50 mg/dL in women. People's cholesterol levels who strayed too far from the numbers were more likely to develop dementia over the course of the study.
People's levels who were at least 65 mg/dL, the highest of the three groups, were 15% more likely to develop dementia. Those with the lowest levels, 11 to 41 mg/dL, had a 7% increased risk. Researchers did not find any correlation between LDL cholesterol and dementia,
Dr. Howard Weintraub, clinical director of the Centre for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease at NYU Langone Heart in New York, was not involved in the study, but told NBC he was not expecting the findings. “When people have HDL that’s 90 or 100 mg/dL, that is associated with dementia. But not these lower numbers, 63 mg/,dL or so,." he said.
How to improve HDL cholesterol?
Dr. Hussein Yassine, an endocrinologist at the Keck Medicine of USC, said healthy habits including exercise help HDL cholesterol to become HDL particles, which allows them to perform normal duties such as removing LDL cholesterol from the arteries and transporting it to the liver, where the body gets rid of it. “The function is really in the particles, not the cholesterol itself,” he said. “Simply increasing HDL levels does not increase its function.” High levels of HDL cholesterol can stiffen veins and impact the heart system which may risk cognitive impairment, such as a stroke.