Middle-aged people with low levels of so-called good cholesterol may be at higher risk for memory decline that could foreshadow Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia, European researchers said on Monday.
The study, involving about 3,700 British men and women, found that falling levels of high-density lipoprotein, or HDL, cholesterol were linked to declining memory by age 60. Such memory declines often precede the development of dementia such as Alzheimer's in the elderly.
Experts predict increasing numbers of people worldwide will develop Alzheimer's in the coming decades as populations in many countries grow older. Scientists are trying to identify risk factors that may appear years before the onset of dementia to help find ways to prevent or postpone it.
The researchers looked at blood cholesterol readings and the results of a simple memory test collected when the people in the study were on average 55 years old and then again when they were on average 60.
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