Cholesterol-lowering statins could reduce the likelihood of high risk dementia patients developing the neurodegenerative disease, a new study has found.

Research conducted at the University of Michigan School of Public Health showed that patients with conditions such as hypertension and diabetes who take statins can reduce their risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease by half.

Lead author and epidemiology professor Mary Haan said: "The bottom line is that if a person takes statins over a course of about five to seven years, it reduces the risk of dementia by half, and that's a really big change."

"We aren't suggesting that people should take statins for purposes other than what they are indicated for, but hopefully this study and others will open the door to statin testing for dementia and other types of cognitive impairment," she added.

The study involved 1,674 participants without dementia. Of these patients, 27 per cent took statins and over a five-year period 130 developed dementia or cognitive impairment.

Previous studies have indicated that people with type 2 diabetes are up to three times more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease.

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