High Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Inversely Relates to Dementia in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: The Shanghai Aging Stud
"Dementia is a progressive brain disorder accompanied by a deterioration in memory and thinking, and often with a decrease in motivation and emotional and language problems. It has physical, mental, economic, and social effects, not only on the patients but also on their careers, their families and society at large."
"High Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Inversely Relates to Dementia in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: The Shanghai Aging Stud" source
"Worldwide, there are over 50 million prevalent dementia cases, and nearly 10 million new cases are diagnosed per year. It is estimated that the existing worldwide costs of dementia are US $818 billion in 2017 and that it will become a trillion-dollar disease by 2018—equivalent to the world's 18th largest economy.
The brain contains 25–30% of the total body cholesterol. As one of the most essential components of neurons, cholesterol is of great importance to develop and maintain neuronal plasticity and function. Studies from western countries have investigated how cholesterol levels related to cognitive impairment, but have yielded inconsistent and conflicting results. In China, only a few studies have investigated the relationship between cholesterol and cognitive impairment among older community residents. The results were varied due to different study design and target population. A cross-sectional study with 597 participants in southwest China has reported that low (TC) (OR = 0.94) and (LDL-C) (OR = 0.94) were associated with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) after adjusting for age, gender and education. Another cross-sectional study involving 2,000 community dwellings in eight longevity areas found that higher cholesterol, including TC (OR = 0.73), LDL-C (OR = 0.82), and (HDL-C) (OR = 0.81), was associated with better cognitive function in the oldest old. Furthermore, an inversely U-shaped effect of TC on cognition has been observed in a multicenter study with 1,889 people aged 65 years and over from four rural counties." source, read more