Cholesterol Link to Dementia Observed; More Evidence of Lifestyle Impact on Risk Profile

Evidence of lifestyle choices to the risks of developing dementia keeps mounting. In March, a report published in the journal Neurology cited a "study of 6,583 adults found that people with the highest amount of abdominal fat between the ages of 40 and 45 were about three times more likely to develop dementia than those with the lowest amount of abdominal fat." (About 50% of American adults have an unhealthy amount of belly fat.) It is not known how excess belly fat increases the risk of dementia. (Los Angeles Times)

More recently, in a study that appears in the American Heart Assn.'s journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, "researchers racking the health of 3,673 British civil servants found that, at age 55, those with low levels of good cholesterol, known as HDL, were 27% more likely to have memory loss than those with high levels. Low levels were seen as a possible risk for dementia." As with the case of belly fat, it is not known how or why the association even exists and more studies are certain to be forthcoming. (Los Angeles Times)

It's interesting that many of the habits that doctors have been encouraging their patients to adopt (exercise, dietary, etc.) not only benefit the prevention of heart disease and diabetes but are also associated with long-term risk reduction of Alzheimer's and dementia.