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.

人们往往被告知，要设法保持他们所谓良性胆固醇的高的水平，以减少患心脏病的危险。而一项新的研究说，高水平的良性胆固醇也可能有助于防止记忆减退。

研究人员们发现，具有更多高密度脂蛋白胆固醇——称之为 HDL——的人，在记忆测试中，比具有较低水平的人做得更好一些。这项由阿切纳 辛格-玛劳克斯领导的研究，发表在美国心脏协会的期刊‘动脉粥样硬化、血栓和血管生物学’上。

研究人员们检查了胆固醇水平超过 3,600 的英国公务员，并且在平均年龄 55 岁时以及再次在平均年龄 61 岁时给他们进行记忆测试。在这项测试中，向志愿人员宣读了一份 20 个字的单子，然后要求他们在两分钟内尽可能多地将他们可能记得的写下来。

不仅那些具有较高 HDL 的人做得比其他人好一些，那些在两次测试之间 HDL 水平下降的人，也看到了他们的成绩下降。