While small dense LDL cholesterol—linked to heart disease—was associated with increased Alzheimer’s risk, other markers like ApoB48 were linked to reduced risk.
“These findings underscore links between lipoprotein metabolism pathways and Alzheimer’s risk, emphasizing the potential role of blood lipoprotein markers in Alzheimer’s risk stratification and of lipid modification strategies in dementia prevention,” the researchers concluded.
“Association of Blood Lipoprotein Levels With Incident Alzheimer’s Disease in Community-Dwelling Individuals: The Framingham Heart Study” by Sokratis Charisis et al.
To further explore the physiologic links between cardiovascular health and AD risk, we studied the associations between various blood lipoprotein levels and AD risk in community-dwelling older adults.
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.
In conclusion, recent studies have shown intricate connections between blood lipid levels and the likelihood of Alzheimer’s disease, the most prevalent type of dementia. Other indicators, such as ApoB48, were linked to a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease, whereas small dense LDL cholesterol, which is linked to heart disease, was linked to an increased risk.
Surprisingly, this study found that even low levels of “good” HDL cholesterol were linked to a lower risk of dementia. These results imply that blood lipid profiles may be able to predict or even prevent Alzheimer’s disease, and that lipid metabolism may have distinct functions in heart and brain health.
Key Facts:.
Negative Cholesterol Association: A 21 percent higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease was linked to higher small dense LDL-C levels.
A 22 percent lower risk was associated with higher ApoB48 levels, which are linked to dietary fat transport.
Unexpected HDL Finding: Individuals with the lowest levels of HDL-C (good cholesterol) were 44 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer’s.
UT Southwestern is the source.
Dementia appears to be more common in people who are at higher risk for heart disease.
Additionally, studies conducted by The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) have found new links between blood fat levels and the chance of Alzheimer’s disease, the most prevalent form of dementia in the world.
Based on the results, blood lipid profiles may be used to better understand, predict, and potentially prevent the disease in the future.
Higher levels of small, dense cholesterol particles, which are known to raise the risk of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease, were linked to an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease in over 800 older adults who participated in the long-running Framingham Heart Study.
Nonetheless, a lower risk of the disease was linked to higher levels of a marker for tiny fat-carrying particles, which help move dietary fats from the gut to other body tissues via the blood after eating.
Paradoxically, the researchers also found that those with the lowest levels of highly dense cholesterol particles—often referred to as “good cholesterol” because it is thought to be protective against cardiovascular disease—were less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than the other participants.
Researcher Sokratis Charisis, MD, of the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases at UT Health San Antonio, stated, “These findings highlight the complex relationships of blood lipids with both heart and brain health, suggesting the possibility of certain blood lipids playing different roles in cardiovascular disease and dementia-related biological processes.”.
Charisis is the first author of the study “Association of Blood Lipoprotein Levels With Incident Alzheimer’s Disease in Community-Dwelling Individuals: The Framingham Heart Study,” which was published on May 30 in the journal Neurology. Researchers from the Framingham Heart Study, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, and Boston University School of Public Health are among the other authors, along with corresponding author Sudha Seshadri, MD, director of the Biggs Institute.
a community-based analysis.
In the aging population, dementia is a major cause of morbidity and mortality, according to the new study. In 2019, there were 57.4 million dementia sufferers worldwide; by 2050, that figure is predicted to rise to 152.8 million.
However, the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias in the United States has been generally declining over time. A. and other wealthier nations, which can be caused in part by improved cardiovascular risk factor management.
In 1948, the community-based Framingham Heart Study was initiated in Framingham, Massachusetts, and is still going strong today. From census data, residents between the ages of 30 and 59 were chosen at random to take part. Individuals who had clear indications of cardiovascular disease at baseline were not included.
Up to 32 examinations, conducted every two years, were completed by participants in the initial cohort. These examinations included lab testing, a physical examination, and a thorough history taken by a doctor.
Researchers from UT Health San Antonio conducted the most recent analysis, which included participants from the original cohort who were 60 years of age or older, free of dementia during the 1985–1988 examination period, and who had access to cognitive follow-up and lipoprotein marker data. Lipids in the bloodstream are transported by lipoproteins.
Lipid levels in the blood and dementia.
Blood samples taken during the mid-to late-1980s examination period were used to measure levels of small dense LDL-C (sdLDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), or “bad cholesterol,” high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), or “good cholesterol,” and other lipoprotein types linked to heart disease.
Until 2020, the Framingham participants were monitored for incident Alzheimer’s disease, which is a diagnosis of the disease for the first time.
In all, 128 of the 822 participants experienced an incident of Alzheimer’s.
The researchers found that a 21 percent increase in the risk for incident Alzheimer’s disease was linked to an increase of 1 standard deviation unit (SDU) in the concentration of small dense LDL-C (sdLDL-C), a measure of how far a particular data point deviates from the mean.
In contrast to other low-density lipoproteins, small dense LDL-C (sdLDL-C) is a type of so-called bad cholesterol that is thought to be more likely to form plaque in arteries and is strongly linked to an increased risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
ApoB48, a lipoprotein that carries dietary fat from the intestines into the bloodstream and is also linked to heart disease and cardiovascular issues, was found to be linked to a 22% reduction in incident Alzheimer’s disease risk for every 1 SDU increase in its concentration.
Those with lower levels of HDL-C, or good cholesterol, in the first quartile had a 44 percent lower risk of Alzheimer’s than those in the second, third, and fourth quartiles. In addition, people with small dense LDL-C concentrations below the median had a 38% lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease than people with concentrations above the median.
Therefore, in conclusion, a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease was linked to higher ApoB48 concentrations and lower small-density bad cholesterol (sdLDL-C) concentrations. Additionally, those with the lowest levels of HDL-C, a good cholesterol, had a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease than the rest of the sample.
The researchers concluded that these results highlight the connections between Alzheimer’s risk and lipoprotein metabolism pathways, highlighting the possible use of blood lipoprotein markers in Alzheimer’s risk assessment and lipid modification techniques in dementia prevention.
Regarding this research news on dementia, heart disease, and cholesterol.
Writer: Steven Lee.
UT Southwestern is the authority.
Steven Lee of UT Southwestern should be contacted.
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Initial Study: Restricted access.
According to Sokratis Charisis et al., “Association of Blood Lipoprotein Levels With Incident Alzheimer’s Disease in Community-Dwelling Individuals: The Framingham Heart Study.”. Neurology.
Abstract.
The Framingham Heart Study linked blood lipoprotein levels to Alzheimer’s disease incidents in people who lived in the community.
Background and Goals.
A significant risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is cardiovascular risk. We investigated the relationships between different blood lipoprotein levels and AD risk in older adults living in the community in order to better understand the physiological connections between cardiovascular health and AD risk.
Procedures.
Participants 60 years of age or older with available cognitive follow-up and lipoprotein marker data from the Framingham Heart Study who did not have a common form of dementia were included in this longitudinal analysis. Blood samples taken between 1985 and 1988 were used to measure the levels of lipoprotein a (Lp(a)), apolipoprotein B (ApoB), small dense LDL-C (sdLDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and the ApoB isoform ApoB48.
From 2020 onward, participants were monitored for AD incidents. AD was diagnosed using accepted clinical standards. Cox proportional hazard models that were adjusted for baseline age and sex were used to investigate the associations between blood lipoprotein levels (represented as both continuous variables and quartiles) and AD incidence.
Results.
Following 822 participants for a median (interquartile range) of 12.55 (7.34–15) years, 128 of them experienced incident AD. The participants’ mean [SD] age was 72.5 [3.7] years, and 538 of them were women (65.5 percent).
The risk of incident AD increased by 21% with a 1 standard deviation unit (SDU) increase in ln(sdLDL-C) concentration (hazard ratio [HR] 1.21, 95 percent CI 1.01–1.45), while the risk of incident AD decreased by 22% with a 1-SDU increase in ln(ApoB48) concentration (HR 0.78, 95 percent CI 0.66–0.93).
Researchers found that individuals in the first HDL-C quartile had a 44 percent lower risk of developing AD than those in the second, third, and fourth quartiles (HR 0.56, 95 percent CI 0.33–0.95). The risk of developing AD was 38 percent lower for participants with sdLDL-C concentrations below the median than for those with concentrations above the median (HR 0.62, 95 percent CI 0.44–0.86).
Talk about that.
A lower risk for AD was linked to higher ApoB48 and lower sdLDL-C concentrations. In addition, those with the lowest HDL-C levels had a lower risk of developing AD than the rest of the sample.
The possible role of blood lipoprotein markers in AD risk stratification and of lipid modification techniques in dementia prevention are highlighted by these findings, which highlight the connections between lipoprotein metabolism pathways and AD risk.
