The lowering of bad cholesterol can reduce the risk of dementia by 26%, the study suggests | Dementia

The reduction of bad cholesterol levels could reduce the risk of dementia by 26%, suggests a study.

People with low levels of low density lipoproteic cholesterol (LDL-C) in the blood have a lower overall risk of dementia and a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease, in particular, According to the published research In the Journal of Neurology Neurochirgery & Psychiatry.

The intake of statins also provided an “further protective effect” against the condition for those people with low levels of bad cholesterol, they discovered researchers.

The number of people who live with dementia all over the world is almost expected to triple 153 million by 2050But evidence suggests that almost half of cases could be prevented or delayed.

LDL-C is often defined as bad cholesterol and can cause the construction of plates in the arteries, leading to cardiovascular diseases, which can increase the risk of strokes, heart and death attacks. However, until recently, the relationship between LDL-C and dementia levels was less clear.

Last year, A Lancet report found 7% of dementia cases were connected to high levels of bad cholesterol in the middle age. Now a new study suggests that having low LDL-C levels could reduce the risk of dementia of a quarter.

The researchers collected data Out of 571,000 people in South Korea to whom dementia-192,213 people had not been diagnosed with LDL-C levels lower than 1.8 mmol/l and 379.006 patients with LDL-C levels exceeding 3.4 mmol/l (> 130 mg/dl).

The analysis of the subsequent diagnoses of dementia showed that the LDL-C levels lower than 1.8 mmol/L were associated with a 26% reduction of the risk of dementia and a 28% cut in the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, compared to LDL-C levels exceeding 3.4 mmol/l.

The statins seemed to offer further protection against dementia in the presence of low LDL-C levels. Among people with LDL-C levels lower than 1.8 mmol/l, the use of statins was connected to a 13% reduction in the risk of dementia and a 12% cut at risk of Alzheimer’s disease, compared to non-users.

This was an observational study and stops stopped on the cause and effect cannot be drawn. The authors also recognized different limitations, including attention on the basic LDL-C levels when lipid profiles could change over time.

However, they concluded: “low LDL-C levels … They are significantly associated with a reduced risk of dementia, including dementia linked to Alzheimer’s disease, with therapy with statins that provide further protective effects”.

Dr. Francesco Tamagnini, neuropthisiologist of the University of Reading, who was not involved in the study, said: “There is clearly more in the history of Alzheimer’s than we thought for the first time.

“This document examines the correlation and potential causal relationship between high levels of risk of cholesterol and dementia.

Dr. Julia Dudley, head of research at the Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “The use of statins seemed to offer a protective effect, even in those who already had cholesterol levels in a lower interval.

“However, the risk of dementia is complex and influenced by many factors. Without a detailed picture of what is happening in the brain, we do not know if there is a direct link between lower cholesterol and reduction of the risk of dementia.

“Clinical studies will be fundamental to understand what effects the statins on the processes of the disease in the brain could have.”