 Cholesterol in Middle Age Not a Risk Factor for Alzheimer’s and Other Dementias
A recent study performed at Johns Hopkins University suggests that high cholesterol levels in middle age do not appear to increase a woman’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia later in life. This contradicts a body of scientific evidence which for a longtime suggested the opposite.
This study recently published online in the journal Neurology, states that in fact, women whose cholesterol levels decline from middle age to old age are at least 2.5 times at greater risk of developing the memory-wasting diseases than those whose cholesterol stayed the same or increased over the years.
This research refutes the long held belief that high cholesterol in mid-life was an increased risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease in women. The researches did suggest however, that women should still watch their cholesterol. Since high cholesterol levels are linked to cardiovascular and other diseases, cholesterol levels should still be kept in check through diet, exercise and medication.
The study names the Prospective Population Study of Women, began in 1968 and followed 1,462 Swedish women, ages 38 to 60. Follow-ups were conducted at four intervals with the most recent examinations ending in 2001. All of the women were given physical exams, heart tests, chest x-rays and blood tests. The group was also surveyed for smoking habits, alcohol and medication use, education and medical history. Throughout the study, body mass index (BMI), a measurement of weight-per-height, and blood pressure were taken. All of the women were assessed for dementia throughout the 32 years of follow-up between 1968 and 2001. In 2001, 161 of the original group had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia, at that time the youngest group was just reaching age 70.
Despite the advances being made in biomarker and other dementia research, the biggest known risk factor for these neurodegenerative diseases is old age.
Researches found that women with slightly higher BMI, higher levels of cholesterol, and higher blood pressure, tended to be healthier than those whose weight, cholesterol and blood pressure were too low. Researches admitted, however, that it is unclear whether “too low” cholesterol, BMI and blood pressure were risk factors for dementia or if they were simply indications that dementia was already developing. They also noted that “an inadvertent loss of weight” often precedes the development of dementia, however, they admitted that the exact cause was unclear.
Given this information we must look at the situation, the role of woman’s cholesterol levels as a predictor of dementia, as still not entirely resolved. For women we can only ast best suggest that your goal then, at least as best as we understand it at this moment in time, is to watch your cholesterol level not let it get high enough to increase your risk of cardiovascular disease, hence not to far over 199 mg/dl. and at the same time not become so aggressive as to drive your cholesterol or your weight below the lower end of what is currently considered to be normal. In 1994, the American Heart Association Task Force on Cholesterol Issues put out a statement entitled "Very Low Cholesterol and Cholesterol Lowering." In this statement it was suggested that there may be a risk of increase in deaths from trauma, cancer, hemorrhagic stroke and respiratory and infectious diseases among those men and women with total cholesterol levels less than 160 mg/dl. The problem, however, was that a substantial portion of these deaths appeared to be caused by poor health unrelated to low cholesterol. To date there is no clear lower limit set for men or for women. This issue should be discussed with your doctor if your cholesterol is below 160 mg/ml.
For more information about Alzheimer’s Disease, click here.
For more information about the problems created by Heart Problems and Stroke Risk Created by High Cholesterol, click here.
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