Cholesterol
High Cholesterol Levels:
You are probably well aware that the risk of heart disease increases with high cholesterol, yes?
Cholesterol (aka lipids) are commonly tested via doctors in many health care settings as cardiovascular disease remains the #1 risk of death for both men and women.
Many patients are recommended statin medications if LDL and or total cholesterol levels are too high.
So you may be surprised to hear . . . .
In 2020, a study utilizing information from the first Women’s Health Initiative, as well as additional new participant information, looked at levels of LDL cholesterol (considered the bad type of cholesterol) and then tracked how long women lived. They also studied adverse heart events like heart attack and stokes.
Here were the findings:
Women with the highest levels of LDL cholesterol had the greatest odds or chances of living to the age of 90, with intact mobility/higher quality of life.
Therefore, the authors suggest the need for a re-evaluation of healthy LDL levels in older women.
Am Geriatr Soc 2020 Feb;68(2):288-296. doi: 10.1111/jgs.16306. Associations between Serum Levels of Cholesterol and Survival to Age 90 in Postmenopausal Women
And this . . .
Another study, published in 2017 showed that participants (who were over age 60) with the highest cholesterol, >240 mg/dl, lived the longest, those at 200-240 mg/dl were in the middle, and those with cholesterol <200 had the highest death rate.
Liang Y, Vetrano DL, Qiu C. Serum total cholesterol and risk of cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular mortality in old age: a population-based study. BMC Geriatr. 2017;17(1):294. Published 2017 Dec 28. doi:10.1186/s12877-017-0685-z
Yet another study . . .
In 2001, The Honolulu Heart Program study published data in The Lancet:
"Our data accord with previous findings of increased mortality in elderly people with low serum cholesterol, and show that long-term persistence of low cholesterol concentration actually increases risk of death."
But wait, there’s more . . .
A 2015 study found: "Overall, an inverse trend is found between all-cause mortality and total (or low density lipoprotein [LDL]) cholesterol levels: mortality is highest in the lowest cholesterol group without exception. If limited to elderly people, this trend is universal. As discussed in Section 2, elderly people with the highest cholesterol levels have the highest survival rates irrespective of where they live in the world …”
“Based on data from Japan, we propose a new direction in the use of cholesterol medications for global health promotion; namely, recognizing that cholesterol is a negative risk factor for all-cause mortality and re-examining our use of cholesterol medications accordingly."
These authors were asked why this information hasn’t changed medical practice. I quote “We believe the answer is very simple: for the side defending this so-called cholesterol theory, the amount of money at stake is too much to lose the fight.”
Hamazaki T, Okuyama H, Ogushi Y, Hama R. Towards a Paradigm Shift in Cholesterol Treatment. A Re-examination of the Cholesterol Issue in Japan. Ann Nutr Metab. 2015;66 Suppl 4:1-116. doi:10.1159/000381654
So, when you are told to get your cholesterol as low as possible, keep in mind:
Sex hormones are derived directly from cholesterol
Eyeballs are 60% cholesterol
Brain tissue is 60% cholesterol
Total cholesterol <150 is a risk factor for dementia
Cholesterol may protect against infections and atherosclerosis
Cholesterol may protect against cancer
A strong association between low cholesterol and violence has been seen
Several studies have found an association between low cholesterol and suicide
💕
Dr. Laura Neville