THURSDAY, Oct. 26, 2023 (HealthDay News) — For older adults, higher triglyceride levels are associated with lower dementia risk, according to a study published online Oct. 25 in Neurology.

Zhen Zhou, Ph.D., from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, and colleagues examined the association of triglycerides with dementia and cognition change among community-dwelling older adults aged 65 years and older without dementia or previous cardiovascular events at enrollment (18,294 ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly [ASPREE] participants). The analysis was repeated in a subcohort of participants with available APOE-ε4 genetic data and an external cohort (68,200 participants from the U.K. Biobank).

The researchers found that dementia was recorded in 823 and 2,778 individuals from the ASPREE and U.K. Biobank cohorts during a median follow-up of 6.4 and 12.5 years, respectively. In the entire ASPREE cohort, higher triglyceride levels were associated with lower dementia risk (hazard ratio with doubling of triglycerides, 0.82). Similar findings were seen in the subcohort of participants with APOE-ε4 genetic data (hazard ratio, 0.82) and in the U.K. Biobank cohort (hazard ratio, 0.83). Slower decline in global, composite cognition and memory over time were seen in association with higher triglycerides.

“Higher triglyceride levels may be reflective of better overall health and lifestyle behaviors that would protect against dementia,” Zhou said in a statement. “Our findings suggest that triglyceride levels may serve as a useful predictor for dementia risk and cognitive decline in older populations.”

Several authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.

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