NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - While a high total cholesterol level in middle age is a risk factor for developing dementia later in life, a drop in cholesterol after middle age may also be a sign of later cognitive problems, a study shows.
It hints that falling total cholesterol levels after middle age may point to an ongoing disease processes in the brain, and could be a marker for risk of late-life cognitive impairment.
Dr. Miia Kivipelto, from the Aging Research Center at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, and colleagues investigated changes in total cholesterol levels in relation to cognitive functioning in late-life.
The study involved some 2000 people who had their cholesterol level measured in midlife, and were re-examined an average of 21 years later.
The team focused on 70 people who developed mild cognitive impairment during follow-up, 48 who developed Alzheimer's disease and a "control" group of 1,203 people who remained mentally intact.
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