Hogere cholesterolwaarden op middelbare leeftijd verhogen kans op dementie later*
Uit een Finse studie onder een kleine 10.000 mannen en vrouwen die 40 jaar gevolgd werden blijkt dat hoge cholesterolwaarden op veertigjarige leeftijd de kans op dementie aanzienlijk kunnen verhogen. Cholesterolwaarden op veertigjarige leeftijd van meer dan 240 mg/dl (= 6,3 mmol/l) geeft 66% meer kans op de ziekte van Alzheimer later in het leven. Zelfs waarden tussen de 200 en 240 mg/dl (= tussen 5,3 en 6,3 mmol/l) geven 52% meer kans op vasculaire dementie.
Study
Shows Even Moderately Elevated Cholesterol Level Boosts Dementia Risk
Elevated
cholesterol levels in midlife - even levels considered only borderline elevated
- significantly increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia
later in life, according to a new study by researchers at Kaiser Permanente's
Division of Research and the University of Kuopio in Finland. The study appears
in the journal Dementia & Geriatric Cognitive Disorders.
The four-decade study of 9,844 men and women found that having high cholesterol
in midlife (240 or higher milligrams per deciliter of blood) increases, by 66
percent, the risk for Alzheimer's disease later in life. Even borderline
cholesterol levels (200 - 239 mg/dL) in midlife raised risk for late-life
vascular dementia by nearly the same amount: 52 percent. Vascular dementia, the
second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer's disease, is a group of
dementia syndromes caused by conditions affecting the blood supply to the brain.
Scientists are still trying to pinpoint the genetic factors and lifestyle causes
for Alzheimer's disease.
By measuring cholesterol levels in 1964 to 1973 based on the 2002 Adult
Treatment Panel III guidelines (the current practice standard) when the Kaiser
Permanente Northern California members were 40 to 45 years old, then following
the participants for 40 years, this study is the largest long-term study with
the most diverse population to examine the midlife cholesterol levels and
late-life dementia. It is also the first study to look at borderline high
cholesterol levels and vascular dementia, rather than just Alzheimer's disease.
"Our study shows that even moderately high cholesterol levels in your 40s
puts people at greater risk for Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia
decades later," said the study's senior author. Rachel Whitmer, Ph.D., a
research scientist and epidemiologist at the Kaiser Permanente Division of
Research in Oakland, Calif. "Considering that nearly 100 million Americans
have either high or borderline cholesterol levels, this is a disturbing finding.
The good news here is that what is good for the heart is also good for the mind,
and this is an early risk factor for dementia that can be modified and managed
by lowering cholesterol through healthy lifestyle changes."
This study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, adds to other research
emphasizing the importance of addressing dementia risk factors in midlife,
before an underlying disease or symptoms appear, the researchers said.
"Our findings add to the existing body of evidence on a degree of overlap
between two dementia types in terms of risk factors, symptoms and neuropathology,"
said the study's lead author, Alina Solomon, MD, a researcher with the
Department of Neurology at the University of Kuopio, Finland. "Dementia and
cardiovascular disease are common major health problems, share several risk
factors and often occur simultaneously, interacting with one another. A holistic
approach that addresses multiple major health problems simultaneously is needed
to effectively manage these disorders."
The study tracked members of Kaiser Permanente's Northern California Medical
Group from 1967 to 2007 by using the multiphasic testing records pioneered by
Kaiser Permanente founding physician Morris Collen, MD, who is widely regarded
worldwide as a health care informatics pioneer. Of the original 9,844
participants, 598 were diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease or vascular dementia
between 1994 and 2007, when the participants were between 61 and 88 years old.
This epidemiological study did not examine the mechanism of the link between
cholesterol levels and dementia.
This study is part of an ongoing body of research at Kaiser Permanente to better
understand the risk and protective factors for dementia. Dr. Whitmer recently
authored two dementia-related studies: one that found a larger abdomen in
midlife increases risk of late-life dementia, and one that showed that low blood
sugar events in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes increase their risk for
dementia. Another Kaiser Permanente study, led by Valerie Crooks of Kaiser
Permanente in Southern California, found that having a strong social network of
friends and family appears to decrease risk for dementia.
Other authors on this study include: Miia Kivipelto, MD, Ph.D., Department of
Neurology, University of Kuopio, Finland, and the Aging Research Center,
Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Benjamin Wolozin, MD, Ph.D.,
Department of Pharmacology, Boston University School of Medicine; and Jufen Zhou,
MS, Kaiser Permanente Division of Research. Additional funding for the study was
provided by Kaiser Permanente Community Benefit, the Academy of Finland
Marie-Curie EST Program, the Gamla Tjänarinnor Foundation, and Stiftelsen
Dementia, Sweden.
Source:
Emily Schwartz
Golin/Harris International
(Oktober
2009)
