United States: A large study of nearly 10,000 adults in their 70s has found that unexplained changes in cholesterol levels from year to year could be an early warning sign for dementia risk.
The research, which took place over six years, showed that people with the most fluctuating cholesterol levels had a 60 percent of the higher risk of developing dementia which is mainly compared to those with more stable cholesterol levels. This suggests that monitoring changes in cholesterol over time could help identify people at higher risk for dementia before other symptoms appear.
Indications That Are HIDDEN in Everyday Blood Tests
As reported by the Science Blog, besides cholesterol level, your yearly check-up could reveal more of the following. Latest studies have indicated that fluctuations which are unpredictable might early inform on the possible deterioration of brain function, maybe even before memory problems are observable.
In essence, older patients who were not on lipid-lowering medicines but had changes in cholesterol levels – particularly those with year-on-year alterations – could be candidates for watchful waiting and early risk-reduction strategies, stated the lead author, Zhen Zhou, Ph.D., a researcher at the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.
A six-year snapshot into the brain’s health
The researchers recruited the participants from Norfolk, United Kingdom, comprising of 9,804 adults; average age was 74 years They follow-up cholesterol levels and cognitive function of the participants for six years. Notably, no participant in each group modified cholesterol intake medicines during the complete study and thus researchers met natural fluctuations in cholesterol.
The findings were striking. Overall, new dementia occurred in 509 patients and new mild cognitive impairment in 1,760 during the follow-up. People with the most variability in cholesterol levels were at much greater risk according to the study.
The numbers can tell only a complex story.
The work showed that there are concrete trends in what changes in cholesterol levels can mean for brain function. Relative to individuals with stable total cholesterol levels participants with significant variability had a 60% greater risk of developing dementia and were 23% more likely to experience a decline in cognitive ability.
Especially worrying were the fluctuations in LDL – also known as ‘bad’ – cholesterol. These changes were associated with steeper reductions in memory and reaction time. However, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol — the so-called “good” cholesterol — and triglycerides were not linked in the same manner to cognitive loss.
Understanding The Connection
Otherwise, Zhou also acknowledges the importance of future investigation to explain how cholesterol fluctuation affects dementia risk. “Should cholesterol variability be viewed as a real disease risk factor, as a predictor, or as a biomarker of dementia risk?
So here one possible level may destabilize atherosclerotic plaques which are mostly composed of LDL Cholesterol.