Study: Cholesterol Levels Not a Factor in Alzheimer's

Total blood cholesterol levels appear to have no effect on people's chances of developing Alzheimer's disease, according to a study reported in the May 12 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Previous studies that have examined the association of blood cholesterol levels with the risk for development of Alzheimer disease have been inconclusive.

In this study, researchers examined the impact of cholesterol levels on the risk of Alzheimer's disease for 1,026 participants in the Framingham Study, whose cholesterol levels were measured many times over a 50 year-period.

The participants were free of stroke and dementia when examined in 1988-1989 and had undergone apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotyping.

Seventy-seven participants developed Alzheimer's disease from 1992 to 2000. After adjustment for age, sex, APOE genotype, smoking, body mass index, coronary heart disease and diabetes, the researchers found no significant association between the risk for Alzheimer's disease and cholesterol levels.

Other sources: Archives of Internal Medicine 2003;163:1053-1057