Known knowns. Known unknowns. Unknown unknowns. Hmmm . . . We know that higher levels of physical are associated with lower risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Multiple studies have demonstrated this over & over again. We also know that physical activity tends to increase HDL, the good cholesterol. But is there a link between HDL & AD? As of this month's issue of Archives of Neurology there is!
The authors studied a cohort of 1,130 elderly (avg 76yo) free of cognitive impairment followed for just 4+yrs. Those whose HDL was in the highest quartile (>56mg/dL) had a 60% lower risk of developing AD or probable AD compared to those in the lowest quartile (<38mg/dL), regardless of age, sex, education, ethnicity, and APOEe4 genotype. For what it's worth, average age at diagnosis was 83yo.
Ironically, there weren't enough cases of vascular dementia to arrive at a statistically significant answer, but the results suggested once more that high HDL is associated w/lower risk of vascular dementia, too.
Hmmm . . . that chocolate is looking pretty good to me right now to raise my HDL.
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