New research linking high cholesterol levels in middle age to dementia brought this old medical adage to mind: what’s good for the heart is good for the brain. High cholesterol levels have long been associated with an increased risk of heart disease and stroke, but until recently the link with dementia hasn’t been so clear.
This latest international study, led by a team from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, found that middle-aged people with the highest “bad” (LDL) cholesterol levels were 60 per cent more likely to develop dementia than their peers with the lowest readings. Just 1 in 40 people developed dementia during the 23-year follow-up period so the increase, while significant, is small and most people with high cholesterol levels