Association between HDL cholesterol and risk of late-onset Alzheimers

January 01, 0001

Association between HDL cholesterol and risk of late-onset Alzheimers

These US authors examined the association of lipid levels with Alzheimer disease (AD) using Cox proportional hazards models in a prospective cohort including 1130 elderly individuals free of cognitive impairment at baseline.

They found: "Higher levels of HDL-C (>55 mg/dL) were associated with a decreased risk of both probable and possible AD and probable AD compared with lower HDL-C levels (hazard ratio, 0.4 and hazard ratio, 0.4). In addition, higher levels of total and non-HDL-C were associated with a decreased risk of AD in analyses adjusting for age, sex, education, ethnic group, and APOE e4 genotype."

The authors concluded: "High HDL-C levels in elderly individuals may be associated with a decreased risk of AD."

It would require randomized intervention trials to demonstrate that treatment to increase HDL might decrease risk of Alzheimer’s.

For the full abstract, click here.

Arch Neurol 67(12):1491-1497, December 2010 © 2010 to the American Medical Association
Association of Higher Levels of High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol in Elderly Individuals and Lower Risk of Late-Onset Alzheimer Disease. Christiane Reitz, Ming-Xin Tang, Nicole Schupf, Jennifer J. Manly, Richard Mayeux, José A. Luchsinger. Correspondence to Dr. Reitz: [email protected]

Category: N. Neurological, T. Endocrine/Metabolic/Nutritional. Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, HDL-C, cohort study, journal watch.
Synopsis edited by Dr Linda French, Toledo, Ohio. Posted on Global Family Doctor 11 January 2011

Pearls are an independent product of the Cochrane primary care group and are meant for educational use and not to guide clinical care.

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