A recent article from Reuters Health explored that question. According to a study listed in the Archives of Neurology, a drop in cholesterol levels might signal impending dementia up to 15 years in advance.
The Honolulu-Asia Aging Study provided numbers to back up this theory. The study observed 56 men with dementia over a 26-year period and 971 men who didn’t have the condition. Cholesterol levels at the start of the study weren’t drastically different between those that developed dementia and those who didn’t, but researchers did note a drop in cholesterol levels in subjects that went on to develop dementia.
Dr. Robert Stewart, one of the research professionals that conducted the study summed up the benefits of this conclusion, as quoted in the Reuters article: “Studies like this are extremely valuable because they can provide a ‘window’ on to processes going on early in dementia, allowing researchers to look back in time at people’s health and other characteristics and compare these between people who develop dementia and those who do not.”
Further evidence that the cholesterol drop is indeed a red flag, was the fact that the decline in levels was noted in men who also had the APOE genetic mutation though to be responsible for Alzheimer’s disease.
After ruling out the cholesterol drop occurring as a result of medication, the report conclusions were listed in the article as being “…possible that the decline in cholesterol levels is a marker for early processes that reflect neurodegenerative changes and also lead to a decline in general health status.”
For more information on the report, go to Archives of Neurology, January 2007.
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