- We hear plenty about the dangers of high
cholesterol levels, but low levels apparently confer their own risks. Naturally
low cholesterol levels are associated with poorer performance on a variety of
cognitive measures, according to a new study.
"It is not entirely surprising that lower cholesterol levels were associated
with moderately lower levels of cognitive function, given (that) cholesterol is
important in brain function," Dr. Penelope K. Elias from Boston University told
Reuters Health.
Previous reports have related both high and low total cholesterol levels to
deficits in cognitive performance, Elias and her colleagues explain in the
journal Psychosomatic Medicine.
The team used data from 789 men and 1105 women participating in the original
cohort of the Framingham Heart Study to examine the relationship between total
cholesterol and cognitive performance.
Individuals in the lowest total cholesterol group (less than 200 units)
performed more poorly than patients with higher cholesterol levels on tests of
similarities, word fluency, attention/concentration, and overall, the
investigators report.
Participants in the lowest total cholesterol group were 49 percent more
likely than were participants in the highest total cholesterol group (240-380)
to perform poorly, and 80 percent more likely to perform very poorly, the
results indicate.
Do the findings raise questions about treating high cholesterol? "It is
important to note that we did not examine the association between cognition
(and) cholesterol-lowering via medications," Elias explained.
"In fact, a unique aspect of the study was that few of our participants were
being treated with anti-cholesterol drugs; in other words, we looked at
'naturally low and high levels of cholesterol'," she pointed out.
"Naturally low levels of cholesterol and lowered levels of cholesterol may
have very different ramifications for cognitive function," Elias said. "Thus,
our study does not have implications for the guidelines for treatment of high
cholesterol."
