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Key Points
A common daily medication may help protect your brain as you get older.According to a recent study, people who took statins were up to 15% less likely to develop dementia.Here’s why, according to experts.
Statins are one of the most commonly prescribed drug classes, with more than 92 million U.S. adults currently taking one. But while these drugs are commonly associated with lowering your cholesterol, it turns out your brain may benefit too: Statin use may even lower your risk of developing dementia, according to recent research published in The Lancet.
Meet the experts: Cheng-Han Chen, M.D., board-certified interventional cardiologist and medical director of the Structural Heart Program at MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center in Laguna Hills, CA; David Perlmutter, M.D., F.A.C.N., A.B.I.H.M., board-certified neurologist and NYT bestselling author of Brain Defenders.
In the study, researchers followed over 130,000 participants who were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes between 2006 and 2019 and estimated their risk for developing dementia after 10 years. They compared three groups: those who didn’t take a statin, those who were prescribed a statin soon after their diagnosis, and those who were prescribed a statin later on.
The researchers found that the people who were prescribed an early statin intervention were 15% less likely to develop dementia compared to the group that took no statin at all. Ahead, heart and brain health experts break down what that means for you.
Why are the findings significant?
Dementia is most commonly thought of as a brain health event, but the results of the study highlight the vascular component of dementia—and suggest that overlooking that could be ignoring potential preventive solutions. “Dementia is an increasingly significant public health concern in the United States,” says Cheng-Han Chen, M.D., board-certified interventional cardiologist and medical director of the Structural Heart Program at MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center in Laguna Hills, CA. “Identifying ways to reduce dementia risk, including through medications we already use to protect heart health, could have meaningful benefits for patients and their families.”
High cholesterol, which statins are often prescribed to treat, may be more connected to brain health than you might think. “[It’s] a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease and may also contribute to vascular dementia, which is caused by problems with blood flow to the brain,” Dr. Chen explains.
This “reinforces the important connection between metabolic health, cardiovascular health, and brain health,” adds David Perlmutter, M.D., F.A.C.N., A.B.I.H.M., board-certified neurologist and NYT bestselling author of Brain Defenders. But he says it’s worth noting the distinction between vascular dementia and other types, like Alzheimer’s disease (which has other causes, like abnormal protein buildup in the brain).
“What stands out to me is that the association was more apparent for vascular-related dementia than for Alzheimer’s disease,” Dr. Perlmutter says. But the prospect that such a commonly used medication could play a role in preventing any kind of dementia is encouraging. “I think the broader message is that we need to pay attention to the metabolic and vascular conditions that contribute to dementia risk, rather than focusing exclusively on what happens in the brain after the disease develops,” he says.
How closely connected are heart health and brain health?
The results of the study speak to a broader link between how we keep our hearts and our brains healthy. “The connection is extraordinarily strong,” Dr. Perlmutter says. “The brain depends on a healthy cardiovascular system to deliver oxygen and nutrients, but the relationship goes much deeper than blood flow alone.”
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That’s because many of the same issues that damage the heart and blood vessels—like insulin resistance, chronic inflammation, high blood pressure, and metabolic dysfunction—can also hurt your brain, he says. “These processes can influence the activity of microglia, the brain’s resident immune cells, potentially contributing to the chronic inflammation associated with neurodegenerative disease.”
The good news is that many of the lifestyle habits that help us protect our hearts can also shield our brains. “I recommend eating a balanced diet rich in whole foods and low in saturated fat, exercising regularly, maintaining healthy blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar levels, avoiding tobacco, limiting alcohol, maintaining a healthy weight, and prioritizing quality sleep,” Dr. Chen says. “These habits support cardiovascular health and may also help lower the risk of cognitive decline as we age.”
What does this mean for you?
Does all of this mean you should go on a statin? Not necessarily. “I wouldn’t want anyone reading this study to conclude that they should begin taking a statin simply to protect their brain,” Dr. Perlmutter says. “That would go well beyond what the research demonstrates.”
But if you have a condition for which a statin might be appropriate, like type 2 diabetes or high cholesterol, it may be worth discussing with your doctor. The most important thing is finding a way to keep your condition in check that works for you, according to Dr. Chen. “Both diabetes and high cholesterol can increase the risk of cardiovascular problems that may affect brain health,” he explains. “Managing blood sugar and cholesterol levels is an important part of protecting your long-term health and may also help reduce your risk of dementia.”
Beyond looking into certain meds, “what [you] can act on today is the overwhelming importance of metabolic health,” Dr. Perlmutter says. “Keeping blood sugar under control, improving insulin sensitivity, maintaining a healthy weight, exercising regularly, and eating a diet that supports metabolic health are all important strategies.”
And while learning that you may be at risk for dementia can be concerning, it’s important to remember that these findings offer a reason to be optimistic. “The most empowering message is that protecting our brains begins long before we experience memory problems,” Dr. Perlmutter points out. “We have opportunities every day to influence the biological processes that determine how well our brains age.”
The bottom line
While the study’s results open a window into potential new ways of preventing dementia, there’s more to consider. First, as an observational study, the results can show an association between statin use and dementia onset, but not a cause-and-effect relationship.
“People who take statins may also differ from those who don’t in ways that influence their dementia risk, including their overall health, medical care, and lifestyle choices,” Dr. Perlmutter points out. “Even sophisticated statistical adjustments cannot completely eliminate these differences.”
And it’s worth noting that all of the participants in this particular study had type 2 diabetes, which means the results won’t necessarily apply to people who are taking a statin for other reasons.
“So while this new statin study raises interesting questions, we shouldn’t lose sight of the much bigger picture,” Dr. Perlmutter says. “Our best opportunity to protect the brain is to address the metabolic and vascular factors that place it at risk in the first place.”