QuickMedical Announces Study Linking High Cholesterol Levels to Increased Risk for Developing Alzheimer's Disease or Vascular Dementia

Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professionals,


You will love the Amazon Kindle Fire


Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be


Here is a way for nurses administrators, social workers and other health care professionals to get an easyceu or two


Follow Alzheimers1 on twitter

SeattlePI
According to QuickMedical, this new study should encourage more people to monitor their heart and brain health via cholesterol screening.


Issaquah, Wa (PRWEB) May 01, 2012
QuickMedical, a leading distributor of the CardioChek® cholesterol testing instrument for healthcare professionals, and the CardioChek® home cholesterol analyzer released a statement today hailing a new study by Kaiser Permanente. The study suggests that high cholesterol levels are a significant risk factor for developing dementia and Alzheimer's Disease later in life.


The results of the study were published in the journal of Dementia & Geriatric Cognitive Disorders. The research study tracked 9,844 men and women for four decades, starting when the participants were between 40 and 45 years of age.

After controlling for weight, hypertension and diabetes, the researchers discovered a significant link between borderline-high cholesterol and dementia.


The participants in the study, who had high cholesterol, or a value of 240mg/dl or more, had a 66 percent greater risk of developing Alzheimer's Disease later in life. People with borderline-high cholesterol, between 200 and 239, had a 25 percent spike in risk.


According to the American Heart Association, more than 106 million Americans reportedly have borderline-high cholesterol levels.


"With the availability of our CardioChek® cholesterol testing device for the healthcare professional and the CardioChek® analyzer for home use there is now a way for the public to know their cholesterol level number," said Robert Huffstodt, President and CEO of Polymer Technology Systems. "The continued emergence of research findings such as these strongly reinforces the rationale for including cholesterol screenings as an integral part of healthcare preventative maintenance; not only with regards to heart disease and diabetes, but now with the risk of dementia and Alzheimer's Disease.


The study concluded that people as young as 40 with borderline or high cholesterol levels are at increased risk for developing Alzheimer's disease or vascular dementia. Previous studies have linked heart and brain health, but this study is the first to examine the association between borderline cholesterol levels and dementia.