Higher cholesterol levels are associated with better balance function in stroke patients

This study was published in the Journal of Neurology Research Vol. 2, No. 4, Aug 2012

 

Study title and authors:

Higher Serum Total Cholesterol Levels are Associated With Better Long-Term Balance Function After First-Time Ischemic Stroke

Hung-Pin Lee, Yen-Ho Wang, Ching-Lin Hsieh, Yih-Tsen Lai, Shin-Liang Pan

 

This study can be accessed at: http://www.neurores.org/index.php/neurores/article/viewArticle/130

The objective of the study was to investigate the effects of cholesterol levels on long-term balance function in patients with first-time ischemic stroke. The study included 99 first-time ischemic stroke patients who were divided into two groups according to cholesterol levels:
(i) Higher cholesterol group(greater than or equal to 5.17 mmol/L or 200 mg/dL)
(ii) Lower cholesterol group (lower than 5.17 mmol/L or 200 mg/dL).

Balance function was measured using the Postural Assessment Scale for Stroke Patients (PASS). PASS contains 12 questions, each scored between 0 and 3 that measure the ability of stroke patients to maintain a given posture and the ability to ensure equilibrium in changing positions. A higer PASS score denotes better balance.

The study found the higher cholesterol group had 57% higher PASS scores than the lower cholesterol group.

The data from the study shows that higher cholesterol levels are associated with better balance function in first-time ischemic stroke patients.