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High
Cholesterol in your 40s increases risk of
Alzheimer's Disease
Newswise — People with
high cholesterol in their early 40s are more
likely to develop Alzheimer's disease than
those with low cholesterol, according to
research that will be presented at the
American Academy of Neurology 60th
Anniversary Annual Meeting in Chicago.
"Our findings show it
would be best for both physicians and
patients to attack high cholesterol levels
in their 40s to reduce the risk of
dementia," said study author Alina Solomon,
MD, with the University of Kuopio in
Finland. Solomon collaborated with Rachel
Whitmer, PhD, senior author of the study and
a research scientist with Kaiser Permanente
Division of Research in Oakland, CA.
The study involved
9,752 men and women in northern California
who underwent health evaluations between
1964 and 1973 when they were between the
ages of 40 and 45 and remained with the same
health plan through 1994. From 1994 to 2007,
researchers obtained the participants' most
recent medical records to find 504 people
had a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and
162 had vascular dementia.
The study found people
with total cholesterol levels between 249
and 500 milligrams were one-and-a-half times
more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease
than those people with cholesterol levels of
less than 198 milligrams. People with total
cholesterol levels of 221 to 248 milligrams
were more than one-and-a-quarter
times more likely to develop Alzheimer's
disease.
"High mid-life
cholesterol increased the risk of
Alzheimer's disease regardless of midlife
diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity,
smoking and late-life stroke," said Solomon.
Solomon says
conclusions regarding high mid-life
cholesterol and the risk of vascular
dementia were difficult to formulate as
there are several types of vascular dementia
that may have slightly different risk
factors.
The American Academy of
Neurology, an association of more than
21,000 neurologists and neuroscience
professionals, is dedicated to improving
patient care through education and research.
A neurologist is a doctor with specialized
training in diagnosing, treating and
managing disorders of the brain and nervous
system such as Alzheimer’s disease,
epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s
disease, and stroke.
For more information
about the American Academy of Neurology,
visit
http://www.aan.com.
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