Examining blood lipid levels may help physicians predict a patient’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study published May 30 in Neurology.
Here are five notes on the study:
- Researchers from UT Health San Antonio analyzed data from 822 Framingham Heart Study participants aged 60 or older.
Participants included in the analysis had not shown signs of dementia between 1985 to 1988, and had cognitive and lipoprotein marker follow-up data available.
During a follow-up period of roughly 12.5 years, 128 of the participants developed Alzheimer’s disease.
- An increase of 1 standard deviation unit from the mean small dense lipoprotein cholesterol level was associated with a 21% increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
Participants whose small dense LDL-C levels were below the median level were 38% less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease, according to a May 30 news release from the health system.
- Participants whose high-density LDL-C levels fell within the lowest quartile were 44% less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease.
- An increase of 1 standard deviation unit from the mean concentration of the lipoprotein ApoB48 was associated with a 22% decreased risk of developing Alzheimer’s.
- “These findings underscore links between lipoprotein metabolism pathways and AD risk, emphasizing the potential role of blood lipoprotein markers in AD risk stratification and of lipid modification strategies in dementia prevention,” the study authors wrote.
Read the full study here.
