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Aging: Good Cholesterol, Good Memory
by Eric Nagourney
July 1, 2008

People are often advised to try to keep up their levels of so-called good cholesterol to reduce their risk of heart disease. But high levels may also help prevent a decline in memory, a new study says.

Researchers found that people with more high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, known as HDL, did better on memory tests than people with lower levels did. The study, led by Archana Singh-Manoux, appears in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, an American Heart Association Journal.

The researchers checked the cholesterol levels of more than 3,600 British civil servants and gave them memory tests at an average age of 55 and again at 61. For the tests, volunteers were read a list of 20 words and then asked to write down as many as they could remember within two minutes.

Not only did those with higher HDL do better than other people, those whose HDL levels declined between tests also saw a decline in their performance.