A new study has discovered that large fluctuations in cholesterol levels may be a silent predictor of an increased risk for dementia. The six-year study included 10,000 people from Australia and the U.S. in their 70’s. The researchers found that men and women with stable cholesterol levels had a much lower risk of cognitive decline than those whose numbers varied from year to year.
According to SciTechDaily, these results may help clinicians screen for dementia if further studies back up these preliminary findings. The study results will be presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2024 that takes place November 16-18 in Chicago.
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“Older people with fluctuating cholesterol levels unrelated to whether they were taking lipid-lowering medications – particularly those experiencing big year-to-year variations — may warrant closer monitoring and proactive preventive interventions,” said lead author Zhen Zhou, a postdoctoral research fellow in the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.
Roughly one-third of the 10,000 participants in the trial were taking medications to lower cholesterol but none started, stopped or changed their medication during the study. After six years of annual assessments, 509 developed dementia and 1,760 developed cognitive decline without dementia.
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The stunning results showed that:
• High fluctuations, around 25%, in total cholesterol were linked to a 60% increase risk of being diagnosed with dementia and a 23% increase in cognitive decline diagnosis.
• Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL or “bad” cholesterol) levels and total cholesterol fluctuations were associated with significantly faster cognitive decline and poorer scores on cognitive as well as memory and reaction tests.
• High fluctuations of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL or “good” cholesterol) and triglyceride levels weren’t linked to cognitive decline or dementia.
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Zhou emphasized the need for further investigation on how the fluctuations in cholesterol levels affect dementia risk. He hypothesized that the variability of cholesterol levels, especially the LDL levels, may trigger plaque growth and subsequent rupture, which could lead to obstruction of blood flow impacting brain function.
“If future research confirms a cause-and-effect relationships, reducing cholesterol variability could potentially be a promising therapeutic target for dementia,” he said.
According to 2024 statistics gathered by the American Heart Association, using data from 2017 to 2020, 86.4 million, or almost 35% of U.S. adults had undesirable total cholesterol levels of 200 mg/dL or higher.
The same data found that about 25% of adults Americans, or 63.1 million, had high levels of LDL cholesterol of 130 mg/dL or higher. About 41.3 million, or 16.9% of U.S, adults had low levels of HDL cholesterol, less than 40 mg/dL.
Dr. Fernando D. Testai, a professor of neurology at the University of Illinois in Chicago, said that the study “adds an important piece to the puzzle of preserving brain health by providing evidence that increasing variability in cholesterol levels is associated with cognitive decline.” Testai said that the groundbreaking study encourages people to improve their cholesterol profile by following a healthy diet, exercising, and adopting other strategies to help protect the brain.