Keeping your cholesterol within normal range is important at any age. However, information reported in April 2008 at the American Academy of Neurology conference in Chicago suggests that addressing high cholesterol in your 40s is especially important. Ignoring high cholesterol levels in mid-life could lead to Alzheimer’s disease later on in life.
The study involved close to 9,800 men and women in California. These individuals had undergone a health evaluation from 1964 to 1973 and remained on a consistent health plan until 1994. From 1994 to early 2008, the medical records of each subject were examined. The researchers found that, of those individuals examined, 504 subjects were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and 162 were diagnosed with vascular dementia.
From this study, the researchers saw that those individuals with total cholesterol levels between 221 to 248 mg/dL were more than 1.25 times as likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease later on in life than those with normal cholesterol levels. When total cholesterol levels ranged between 249 to 500 mg/dL, these individuals were 1.5 times as likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease. Normal total cholesterol levels are below 200 mg/dL.
Do I Need To Worry About This?
You do need to worry about your cholesterol levels, since a lot of research ties high cholesterol levels to heart disease. While this study found an association between higher cholesterol levels in your 40s and the later development of Alzheimer’s, it does not establish a cause-and-effect relationship. A lot of research has looked into the causes of Alzheimer’s disease, and at this time, scientists are not definitely sure if high cholesterol is one of them.
Source:
American Academy of Neurology. 2008. Available at: http://www.aan.com/press/index.cfm?fuseaction=release.view&release=593. Accessed 17 April 2008.
