A study involving more than a million people has found that low cholesterol could slash your risk of developing dementia by as much as 80 per cent.
The research, spearheaded by the University of Bristol, looked at participants across Denmark, England and Finland to understand how naturally lower cholesterol levels might protect against dementia.
Dr Liv Tybjærg Nordestgaard, who led the work while at Bristol and Copenhagen University Hospital, used genetic analysis to explore this connection.
The team examined people born with genetic variations that naturally reduce their cholesterol levels - essentially mimicking what happens when someone takes cholesterol-lowering medications.
Statins dominate the list of most commonly prescribed medications in the UK, according to the NHS. According to the health body, atorvastatin was prescribed a staggering 73 million times between 2024 and 2025.
TRENDING
Stories
Videos
Your Say
The study showed scientists what might happen if someone took cholesterol-lowering drugs like statins
|GETTY
The findings, published in Alzheimer's & Dementia, drew on data from the UK Biobank, Copenhagen studies, and Finland's FinnGen project.
Researchers used a technique called Mendelian Randomisation, which allowed them to study how genetic variants affect dementia risk while avoiding the influence of lifestyle factors like diet and weight.
The team measured differences in dementia risk by comparing people with these natural cholesterol-lowering variants to those without them..
The method let them see what might happen if someone took cholesterol-lowering drugs like statins or ezetimibe - but without actually studying the medications themselves.
It's a clever way to get around one of the biggest challenges in dementia research - the fact that the condition typically doesn't appear until much later in life.
The results showed that reducing cholesterol by just one millimole per litre was linked to up to an 80 per cent drop in dementia risk for certain drug targets.
"What our study indicates is that if you have these variants that lower your cholesterol, it looks like you have a significantly lower risk of developing dementia," said Dr Nordestgaard, who now works at Copenhagen University Hospital's Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg site.
However, the research doesn't provide definitive answers about the effects of cholesterol-lowering medicines themselves.
The exact reasons why high cholesterol increases dementia risk aren't fully understood, but Dr Nordestgaard has a theory about what might be happening.
"Atherosclerosis is a result of the accumulation of cholesterol in your blood vessels," she explained.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
- High cholesterol: Easy-to-miss symptom seen in cold weather could signal 'blocked arteries', Britons warned
- Cardiologist shares worst offenders for high cholesterol hiding in your diet - 'Consistently proven to increase levels'
- Mounjaro manufacturer trials new weight loss pill that could reduce blood pressure and cholesterol
Healthy blood flow is essential for dementia prevention
|GETTY
"It can be in both the body and the brain and increases the risk of forming small blood clots - one of the causes of dementia."
Looking ahead, Dr Nordestgaard believes the next step should be long-term clinical trials.
"It would be a really good next step to carry out randomised clinical trials over 10 or 30 years, for example, where you give the participants cholesterol-lowering medication and then look at the risk of developing dementia," she added.
Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter