STATINS taken by millions of Britons to lower their cholesterol reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, a study found.

Taking the daily tablets at least six months a year for at least two years reduced the risk of Alzheimer’s by 15 per cent for women and 12 per cent for men.

But the protective effect depends on the type of statin and race of the patient, the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, found.

Assistant Professor Dr Julie Zissimopoulos said: “To our knowledge, no effective treatments exist for Alzheimer disease, and new molecules are years away. However, several drugs prescribed for other conditions have been associated with reducing its risk.”

Previous research into statins and Alzheimer’s showed “a protective association” but there had been shortcomings.

The new study analysed the records of 400,000 patients prescribed four commonly prescribed statins – simvastatin, atorvastatin, pravastatin and rosuvastatin.

It found from 2009 to 2013, 1.72 per cent of women and 1.32 per cent of men received a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s annually.

But white men had the lowest incidence of Alzheimer’s at 1.23 per cent, while fewer black and Hispanic people took statins compared to white people.

The incidence of Alzheimer’s was higher among Hispanic and black women – 2.29 per cent and 2.11 per cent, respectively – than white women – 1.64 per cent.

White men had the lowest incidence of Alzheimer’s (1.23 per cent), lower than that of “other” race women (1.37 per cent) and men (1.29 per cent).