According to a recent study published in Neurology on October 4, the once-thought “good” HDL cholesterol may not be as beneficial for health as previously believed. The study found that having either high or low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol increases the risk of dementia in older adults.
This research suggests that maintaining HDL cholesterol within a specific range is important for cardiovascular and brain health, challenging the previous notion of HDL as solely “good” cholesterol.
Lead author of the study, Erin Ferguson, a doctoral student in epidemiology at the University of California San Francisco, stated, “The relationship between HDL cholesterol and dementia is more complex than we previously thought.” He added, “While the magnitude of this relationship is relatively small, it’s important.”
The study revealed a correlation between dementia and HDL cholesterol levels but did not establish a direct causative link between high or low HDL cholesterol and dementia.
The research involved over 184,000 adults with an average age of 70, all of whom were dementia-free at the beginning of the study. Data from electronic records from the Kaiser Permanente Northern California health plan, along with survey responses, were used to monitor participants’ health behaviors, cholesterol levels, and the development of dementia over a 13-year period.
Over the course of the study, more than 25,000 participants developed dementia. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends maintaining total cholesterol at around 150 mg/dL, with low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol at or below 100 mg/dL. LDL cholesterol has long been considered a significant risk factor for cardiovascular health.
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