Keeping your “bad” cholesterol levels low may help protect your brain as you age, according to a new study published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry.
The study found that people with low levels of LDL cholesterol (also known as “bad” cholesterol) had a lower risk of developing dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease-related dementia.
The research involved a large group of over 192,000 people with low LDL cholesterol levels (under 1.8 mmol/L or 70 mg/dL) and compared them to 379,000 people with higher LDL levels (above 3.4 mmol/L or 130 mg/dL).
Researchers matched participants from each group based on similar characteristics, forming nearly 109,000 matched pairs.
All participants had no prior diagnosis of dementia and were followed for at least 180 days after their cholesterol levels were tested.
The results showed that people with LDL cholesterol levels below 1.8 mmol/L had a 26% lower risk of all types of dementia and a 28% lower risk of Alzheimer’s-related dementia compared to those with high LDL cholesterol levels.
Interestingly, the protective benefit of lowering LDL cholesterol started to drop when levels went too low. For example, people with LDL cholesterol below 1.4 mmol/L (55 mg/dL) had only an 18% reduced risk. And when LDL dropped below 0.8 mmol/L (30 mg/dL), the protective effect disappeared entirely.
The study also found that people taking statins—cholesterol-lowering medications—gained even more protection. Among those with low LDL cholesterol, statin users had a 13% lower risk of all types of dementia and a 12% lower risk of Alzheimer’s-related dementia compared to people who didn’t take statins.
While these results are encouraging, the researchers caution that this was an observational study, meaning it cannot prove cause and effect. Other health factors that weren’t measured may have influenced the outcomes. The study also relied on past medical records, which may not have captured every case of dementia or tracked changes in cholesterol levels over time.
Still, the findings support the idea that managing LDL cholesterol is important not only for heart health but also for brain health. Keeping LDL levels under control—especially with the help of statins—may reduce the risk of developing dementia later in life.
The researchers conclude that maintaining LDL cholesterol below 1.8 mmol/L (70 mg/dL) may help protect your memory and cognitive function as you age.
If you care about dementia, please read studies about how the Mediterranean diet could protect your brain health, and Vitamin B supplements could help reduce dementia risk.
For more health information, please see recent studies that high-fiber diet could help lower the dementia risk, and these antioxidants could help reduce dementia risk.
