THE ESSENTIAL
- Researchers have for the first time associated high cholesterol with an increased risk of dementia.
- They estimated that each 1 mmol increase in LDL cholesterol per liter of blood increased the incidence of dementia by 8%.
- This discovery could soon make it possible to calculate a person’s risk of dementia by testing their cholesterol levels with a simple and inexpensive blood test.
Diet, physical activity, sleep… up to 40% of a person’s risk of dementia can be attributed to modifiable factors. And according to the study by scientists from the Heart Research Institute (HRI): controlling your LDL cholesterol level (better known as bad cholesterol) could soon join the list of good habits to take.
The work, published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia : Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring in March, highlighted for the first time a link between the risk of dementia and hypercholesterolemia.
Dementia: hypercholesterolemia is a risk factor
For this research, the Australian team analyzed data from 17 global studies, involving more than one million patients under the age of 65. She discovered that individuals who had high cholesterol levels in their fifties were more likely to suffer from mild cognitive impairment (stage at risk of dementia, editor’s note) or dementia from all causes as they age.
Scientists estimated that each 1 mmol increase in LDL cholesterol per liter of blood was associated with an 8% increase in the risk of dementia.
“This is a really exciting finding because we’ve found the association between cholesterol and dementia. Until now, we didn’t know that high cholesterol was a risk factor for dementia, but we found a link : bad cholesterol aggregates a protein called tau between neurons, which crosses the blood-brain barrier and can lead to dementia”explains Dr. Ashish Misra of HRI in a press release from its research center.
Cholesterol and dementia: easier identification of people at risk
Beyond having brought to light a new modifiable risk factor, the researchers assure that their discovery could eventually offer doctors the possibility of calculating a patient’s risk of dementia by analyzing their cholesterol level.
“It’s very exciting to know that if we can classify someone as high risk by checking their high cholesterol in their blood tests in their 50s, then we can look at their diet as a way to manage, and even reduce your risk of dementiaemphasizes Dr. Misra. Best of all, it’s an inexpensive intervention. It is verified by blood test, so it is easy to detect“.
