High cholesterol in mid-life lifts Alzheimer’s risk

High cholesterol people in their 40s are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s Disease than people with low cholesterol, and should be encouraged by their doctors to take positive action, according to a new Finnish study.

The study involved 9,752 people aged between 40 and 54 years over a ten year period, and found that people with total cholesterol levels between 249 and 500 milligrams were one-and-a-half times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s, than those with cholesterol levels of less than 198 milligrams.

People with total cholesterol levels of 221 to 248 milligrams were more than one-and-a-quarter times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s, according to the research carried out by the University of Kuopio in Finland.

Dr Alina Solomon, the study author, said that “high mid-life cholesterol increased the risk of Alzheimer’s Disease regardless of mid-life diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, smoking, and late-life stroke”.