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High
Cholesterol in Midlife raises risk of
late-life Dementia, Kaiser Permanente Study
finds…Largest, longest study shows even
moderately elevated cholesterol level boosts
dementia risk
OAKLAND, Calif., Aug. 4 /PRNewswire/ --
Elevated cholesterol levels in midlife -
even levels considered only borderline
elevated - significantly increase the risk
of Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia
later in life, according to a new study by
researchers at Kaiser Permanente's Division
of Research and the University of Kuopio in
Finland. The study appears in the journal
Dementia & Geriatric Cognitive Disorders.
The four-decade study of 9,844 men and women
found that having high cholesterol in
midlife (240 or higher milligrams per
deciliter of blood) increases, by 66
percent, the risk for Alzheimer's disease
later in life. Even borderline cholesterol
levels (200 - 239 mg/dL) in midlife raised
risk for late-life vascular dementia by
nearly the same amount: 52 percent.
Vascular dementia, the second most common
form of dementia after Alzheimer's disease,
is a group of dementia syndromes caused by
conditions affecting the blood supply to the
brain.
Scientists are still trying to pinpoint the
genetic factors and lifestyle causes for
Alzheimer's disease.
By measuring cholesterol levels in 1964 to
1973 based on the 2002 Adult Treatment Panel
III guidelines (the current practice
standard) when the Kaiser Permanente
Northern California members were 40 to 45
years old, then following the participants
for 40 years, this study is the largest
long-term study with the most diverse
population to examine the midlife
cholesterol levels and late-life dementia.
It is also the first study to look at
borderline high cholesterol levels and
vascular dementia, rather than just
Alzheimer's disease.
"Our study shows that even moderately high
cholesterol levels in your 40s puts people
at greater risk for Alzheimer's disease and
vascular dementia decades later," said the
study's senior author Rachel Whitmer, PhD, a
research scientist and epidemiologist at the
Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in
Oakland, Calif.
"Considering that nearly 100 million
Americans have either high or borderline
cholesterol levels, this is a disturbing
finding.
"The
good news here is that what is good for the
heart is also good for the mind, and this is
an early risk factor for dementia that can
be modified and managed by lowering
cholesterol through healthy lifestyle
changes."
This study, funded by the National
Institutes of Health, adds to other research
emphasizing the importance of addressing
dementia risk factors in midlife, before an
underlying disease or symptoms appear, the
researchers said.
"Our findings add to the existing body of
evidence on a degree of overlap between two
dementia types in terms of risk factors,
symptoms and neuropathology," said the
study's lead author, Alina Solomon, MD, a
researcher with the Department of Neurology
at the University of Kuopio, Finland.
"Dementia and cardiovascular disease are
common major health problems, share several
risk factors and often occur simultaneously,
interacting with one another.
"A
holistic approach that addresses multiple
major health problems simultaneously is
needed to effectively manage these
disorders."
The study tracked members of Kaiser
Permanente's Northern California Medical
Group from 1967 to 2007 by using the
multiphasic testing records pioneered by
Kaiser Permanente founding physician Morris
Collen, MD, who is widely regarded worldwide
as a health care informatics pioneer.
Of the original 9,844 participants, 598 were
diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease or
vascular dementia between 1994 and 2007,
when the participants were between 61 and 88
years old.
This epidemiological study did not examine
the mechanism of the link between
cholesterol levels and dementia.
This study is part of an ongoing body of
research at Kaiser Permanente to better
understand the risk and protective factors
for dementia.
Dr. Whitmer recently authored two
dementia-related studies: one that found a
larger abdomen in midlife increases risk of
late-life dementia, and one that showed that
low blood sugar events in elderly patients
with type 2 diabetes increase their risk for
dementia.
Another
Kaiser Permanente study, led by Valerie
Crooks of Kaiser Permanente in Southern
California, found that having a strong
social network of friends and family appears
to decrease risk for dementia.
Other authors on this study include: Miia
Kivipelto, MD, Ph.D., Department of
Neurology, University of Kuopio, Finland,
and the Aging Research Center, Karolinska
Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Benjamin
Wolozin, MD, Ph.D., Department of
Pharmacology, Boston University School of
Medicine; and Jufen Zhou, MS, Kaiser
Permanente Division of Research. Additional
funding for the study was provided by Kaiser
Permanente Community Benefit, the Academy of
Finland Marie-Curie EST Program, the Gamla
Tjanarinnor Foundation, and Stiftelsen
Dementia, Sweden.
About the Kaiser Permanente Division of
Research
http://www.dor.kaiser.org/)
The Kaiser Permanente Division of Research
conducts, publishes, and disseminates
epidemiologic and health services research
to improve the health and medical care of
Kaiser Permanente members and the society at
large.
It seeks to understand the determinants of
illness and well-being and to improve the
quality and cost-effectiveness of health
care. Currently, DOR's 400-plus staff is
working on more than 250 epidemiological and
health services research projects.
About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping
shape the future of health care. We are
recognized as one of America's leading
health care providers and not-for-profit
health plans.
Founded
in 1945, our mission is to provide
high-quality, affordable health care
services to improve the health of our
members and the communities we serve.
We currently serve 8.6 million members in
nine states and the District of Columbia.
Care for members and patients is focused on
their total health and guided by their
personal physicians, specialists and team of
caregivers.
Our
expert and caring medical teams are
empowered and supported by industry-leading
technology advances and tools for health
promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the
art care delivery and world-class chronic
disease management.
Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care
innovations, clinical research, health
education and the support of community
health. For more information, go to:
www.kp.org/newscenter.