March 18, 2002 -- Lowering your cholesterol levels -- especiall
March 18, 2002 -- Lowering your cholesterol levels -- especially the so-called "bad" or LDL cholesterol -- may not only reduce your risk of heart problems, it could keep your mind sharp. A new study found women with high LDL cholesterol levels were more likely to suffer from age-related mental decline.
The findings also suggest that cholesterol-lowering statin drugs may have a protective effect on the brain and help prevent dementia in other ways -- aside from just lowering cholesterol.
The study, published in the Archives of Neurology, looked at more than 1,000 postmenopausal women with heart disease for four years. Researchers measured mental abilities and cholesterol levels at the beginning and end of the study and tracked use of statins.
They found the elderly women with high total and LDL cholesterol levels were significantly more likely to have suffered mental decline during the course of the study and scored worse on tests of mental ability. Those women who reduced their total and LDL cholesterol over the four years had better mental functioning and about a 50% less risk of having any form of memory problems.
"These findings suggest that lowering total and LDL cholesterol levels may be a potential strategy for preventing the development of ... dementia," write the authors.
Researchers say the results of previous studies on the relationship between cholesterol and mental problems have been mixed. Some suggest high cholesterol levels are associated with an increased risk of mental problems such as Alzheimer's disease, but others have linked low cholesterol to Alzheimer's.
The study also found that statin use was associated with a lower risk of memory problems or dementia, regardless of total cholesterol level. The authors say more research is needed to understand exactly how statins seem to protect the brain, but they suspect that the drugs may work by improving muscle function and reducing inflammation.
