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Starting statin treatment soon after a type 2 diabetes diagnosis may lower the risk of developing dementia, according to a new study presented at ESC Congress 2026 and published in The Lancet Regional Health – Europe.
Researchers said people with type 2 diabetes already face a higher risk of cognitive decline and dementia. High levels of LDL, often called “bad” cholesterol, are also common among people with diabetes.
The study looked at 132,585 people in Denmark who were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes between 2006 and 2019 and had not previously taken statins. Researchers followed them through the end of 2021 to see whether they developed dementia.
During a median follow-up of 7.1 years, about 2.7 percent of the participants developed dementia.
The researchers found that people who started taking statins within one year of their diabetes diagnosis had a 15 percent lower relative risk of developing dementia over 10 years compared with those who did not start statin treatment within five years.
Those who started statins one to five years after their diabetes diagnosis also had a lower risk, but the reduction was smaller, at about 10 percent.
The findings were similar in men and women.
Dr Tummas Ternhamar of Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark, who presented the study, said the results suggest that starting cholesterol-lowering treatment early may offer benefits beyond protecting the heart and blood vessels.
Statins are widely used to lower LDL cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes. However, researchers stressed that the new study does not prove that statins prevent dementia because it was based on observational data.
Professor Isabel Goncalves of the European Society of Cardiology’s Communication Committee said people with type 2 diabetes are already advised to control their cholesterol because of their higher risk of cardiovascular disease.
She said the study suggests that starting statins soon after a diabetes diagnosis may also be associated with a modest reduction in dementia risk, although further research is needed to confirm the finding.
The researchers said their results could support discussions between doctors and patients about timely cholesterol treatment, particularly for people with type 2 diabetes and high LDL cholesterol.