Can Having High Cholesterol Cause Dementia?

Repost. By Rachel | August 15, 2018

Cholesterol is a fatty substance found in the blood that can be transported to the bloodstream. Our daily food intake and our lifestyle play a major role in the development of high cholesterol. There are studies that have proven how high cholesterol effects our cognitive capabilities. Each and everyones brain, and how it functions, plays the main part in our overall life expectancy. As we get older, our bodies and minds will adapt to change depending on how we have maintained our health growing up.

Understanding Cholesterol

People that have high cholesterol levels in the blood often have other factors that are linked with dementia risks such as high blood pressure and diabetes. Since these risk factors are so intense, it is hard to separate these factors and analyze them. Since high cholesterol does cause cognitive impairments within the brain, research has shown that there is a relationship between having high levels of cholesterol in the blood that can lead to the development of dementia.

Effects on Cognitive Functions

Your brain cells determine how well you function, both physically and mentally. That is why the cholesterol in your brain should be monitored as well.  There are other aspects of your mental wellbeing that is effected by your cholesterol. Your cholesterol effects your learning and memory capabilities just as much as it effects your physical health. We try to monitor everything but cholesterol is such a heavy topic in the healthcare industry that we have a lot of unsolved questions.

Some common diseases that are passed down through genetics, like Alzheimers, plays a role in the processing and use of cholesterol. Changes with cholesterol processes in the brain may not be related to levels of cholesterol in the blood. There still needs to be more research done to fully prove anything.

Statins are used to treat high cholesterol. The main issue with statins are that it can cause memory loss and confusion. As we get older, our brains begin to weaken and the medications we take can effect that. Individuals that take statins are not necessarily prone to develop dementia, but this could occur. The answers are uncertain when it comes to the actually causation of dementia. It is true, although, that there is a relationship between high cholesterol and dementia.