New research suggests that having lower cholesterol levels might help protect people from getting dementia.
A large international study, led by the University of Bristol, looked at health data from more than one million people. The scientists found that people who naturally have lower cholesterol due to their genes are less likely to develop dementia as they age.
The study was led by Dr. Liv Tybjærg Nordestgaard during her time at the University of Bristol and Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark. The findings were published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia, which is the official journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.
The researchers focused on people who were born with certain genetic traits that lower cholesterol levels. These traits affect the same proteins that popular cholesterol-lowering drugs like statins and ezetimibe target. This gave the scientists a natural way to study the long-term effects of low cholesterol without needing to wait decades for clinical trials.
They used a scientific method called Mendelian Randomization. This method helps researchers understand how certain genes mimic the effects of medications. It also reduces the chance that the results are influenced by things like a person’s weight, diet, or lifestyle.
By comparing people who had these special genes to those who didn’t, the team found that even a small drop in cholesterol—about one millimole per liter—could lower the risk of dementia by up to 80% for some people. This is a strong sign that low cholesterol may help protect brain health.
Dr. Nordestgaard explained that people who have these cholesterol-lowering genes seem to be much less likely to develop dementia. This could mean that lowering cholesterol, either through genes or medication, might protect the brain.
However, she also noted that this study doesn’t prove that taking cholesterol-lowering drugs like statins will definitely prevent dementia. More research is needed to know for sure.
Dementia is a condition that usually appears later in life. It causes memory loss, confusion, and changes in behavior. Studying what causes it is very difficult because it takes many years for the symptoms to show up. That’s why it’s hard to prove what really causes dementia using regular experiments.
Scientists still aren’t sure why high cholesterol might increase the risk of dementia. One theory is that cholesterol causes fatty buildups in blood vessels, which is known as atherosclerosis. When these buildups happen in the brain, they can block blood flow or cause small clots. These problems can lead to memory issues and other signs of dementia.
Dr. Nordestgaard said, “Atherosclerosis is a result of the accumulation of cholesterol in your blood vessels. It can be in both the body and the brain and increases the risk of forming small blood clots—one of the causes of dementia.”
She added that a great next step would be to run long-term clinical trials—maybe over 10 to 30 years—to see if giving people cholesterol-lowering medications could reduce their risk of getting dementia.
This study gives hope that something as simple as managing cholesterol might help protect the brain. It also opens the door for new research into how we can prevent dementia and keep our brains healthy as we age.
If you care about dementia, please read studies about dietary strategies to ward off dementia, and how omega-3 fatty acids fuel your mind.
For more health information, please see recent studies about Choline deficiency linked to Alzheimer’s disease, and what to eat (and avoid) for dementia prevention.
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