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Serum cholesterol concentrations are associated with visuomotor speed in men: findings from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988–1994^1,2,3

¹ From the Division of Health and Family Studies, Institute for Families in Society, University of South Carolina, Columbia (JZ); the Center for Clinical Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh (MFM); and the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, the Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina (REM)

Background: Current international recommendations advise aggressive treatment of relative hypercholesterolemia despite an incomplete understanding of any neurobehavioral effects of low or lowered serum cholesterol.

Objective: The objective was to examine the relation between serum cholesterol concentrations and performance in immediate memory, visuomotor speed, and coding speed tests.

Design: The participants were 4110 adults aged 20–59 y who completed a set of neurobehavioral tests and had blood specimens collected as a part of the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988–1994.

Results: After adjustment for sociodemographic variables, serum trace elements and vitamins, dietary energy intake, and risk factors for cardiovascular disease, we found inverse linear associations of serum total cholesterol and non-HDL cholesterol with visuomotor speed in men. The least-squares mean (± SE) visuomotor speeds were 231.6 ± 2.6, 224.0 ± 2.2, and 218.9 ± 2.5 ms, respectively, for men with serum total cholesterol concentrations below the 25th, between the 25th and the 75th, and at or above the 75th percentile (P for trend < 0.001) and were 231.7 ± 2.7, 225.8 ± 2.4, and 214.1 ± 2.3 ms, respectively, for men with a non-HDL-cholesterol concentration below the 25th, between the 25th and the 75th, and at or above the 75th percentile (P for trend < 0.001). No significant associations were observed between memory or coding speed and the selected serum cholesterol measures in men, and the scores of the 3 neurobehavioral tests were unrelated to serum cholesterol in women.

Conclusion: Low serum total cholesterol and non-HDL cholesterol are associated with slow visuomotor speed in young and middle-aged men.

Key Words: Serum cholesterol • HDL cholesterol • LDL cholesterol • visuomotor speed • coding speed • memory • third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey • NHANES III • cognitive function

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