Low cholesterol leads to an early death

This study was published in the ScientificWorld Journal 2012;2012:930139

 

Study title and authors:

Lipids and all-cause mortality among older adults: a 12-year follow-up study.

Cabrera MA, de Andrade SM, Dip RM.

Postgraduate Program in Public Health, State University of Londrina-UEL, Robert Koch Avenue, 60 CEP, 86038440 Londrina, PR, Brazil. marcoscabrera@uol.com.br

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22666169

This study investigated the association between cholesterol levels and death rates in elderly people. The study lasted for 12 years and included 800 people aged 60-85 years.

The study found:
(a) Those with cholesterol levels above 200 mg/dL (5.1 mmol/L) had a 24% decreased risk of death compared to those with cholesterol levels below 200 mg/dL (5.1 mmol/L).
(b) Those with low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels above 130 mg/dL (3.3 mmol/L) had a 27% decreased risk of death compared to those with low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels below 130 mg/dL (3.3 mmol/L).
(c) Those with cholesterol levels below 170 mg/dL (4.4 mmol/L) had a 60% increased risk of death compared to those with cholesterol levels above 170 mg/dL (4.4 mmol/L).
(d) Those with high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels below 40 mg/dL (1.0 mmol/L) had a 20% increased risk of death compared to those with high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels above 40 mg/dL (1.0 mmol/L).

The data from the study shows that low cholesterol leads to an early death.

Older men with lower cholesterol die earlier

This study was published in the European Heart Journal 2001 Apr;22(7):573-9

 

Study title and authors:

Cardiovascular risk factors and 10-year all-cause mortality in elderly European male populations; the FINE study. Finland, Italy, Netherlands, Elderly.

Menotti A, Mulder I, Nissinen A, Feskens E, Giampaoli S, Tervahauta M, Kromhout D.

Division of Public Health Research, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, The Netherlands.

 

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11259144

The aim of the study was to examine risk factors in relation to death rates in elderly populations of different European countries. The study included 2,285 men, aged 65 to 84, from Finland, the Netherlands and Italy who were followed for ten years.

Regarding cholesterol levels, the study found:
(a) Men from Finland with the lowest cholesterol had a 19% increased risk of death compared to the men from Finland with the highest cholesterol.
(b) Men from Finland with the lowest levels of high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol had a 14% increased risk of death compared to the men from Finland with the highest levels of high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol.
(c) Men from the Netherlands with the lowest cholesterol had a 5% increased risk of death compared to the men from the Netherlands with the highest cholesterol.
(d) Men from the Netherlands with the lowest levels of high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol had a 5% increased risk of death compared to the men from the Netherlands with the highest levels of high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol.
(e) Men from Italy with the lowest cholesterol had a 5% increased risk of death compared to the men from Italy with the highest cholesterol.
(f) Men from Italy with the lowest levels of high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol had a 12% increased risk of death compared to the men from Italy with the highest levels of high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol.

The data from the study shows that lower levels of cholesterol and lower levels of HDL cholesterol are associated with an earlier death in older men.

High levels of HDL cholesterol are associated with better survival in people aged over 80

This study was published in Gerontology 2008;54(2):71-8

Study title and authors
Serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels and mortality in frail, community-living elderly.

Landi F, Russo A, Pahor M, Capoluongo E, Liperoti R, Cesari M, Bernabei R, Onder G.
Department of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy. francesco_landi@rm.unicatt.it

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18025809

The object of the study was to evaluate the impact of high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol on death rates in older people. The two year study analyzed HDL cholesterol data from 359 subjects aged 80 years and older.

The study found:
(a) The HDL cholesterol levels of men that died was 36.7 mg/dL (.9 mmol/l), whereas the HDL cholesterol levels in the men who survived was 43.3 mg/dL (1.1 mmol/l).
(b) The HDL cholesterol levels of women that died was 42.2 mg/dL (1.1 mmol/l), whereas the HDL cholesterol levels in the women who survived was 49.3 mg/dL (1.3 mmol/l).

The results of this study show that high levels of HDL cholesterol are associated with better survival in people aged over 80.

An analysis of 27 trials found the best way to raise HDL cholesterol is to eat saturated fat. See here. 

Low cholesterol levels are linked to an earlier death

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This study was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine 2003 Jul 14;163(13):1549-54

Study title and authors:
High-density vs low-density lipoprotein cholesterol as the risk factor for coronary artery disease and stroke in old age.

Weverling-Rijnsburger AW, Jonkers IJ, van Exel E, Gussekloo J, Westendorp RG.
Section of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Department of General Internal Medicine, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands. a.w.e.weverling-rijnsburger@lumc.edu

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12860577

The aim of the study was to evaluate the relationships between cholesterol levels, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels and death rates. The study included 705 participants who had reached the age of 85 who were followed for four years.

The study found:
(a) Those with the lowest cholesterol (163-195 mg/dL or 4.2-5.0 mmol/l) had a 60% increase in death rates compared to those with the highest cholesterol (248-280 or 6.4-7.2 mmol/l).
(b) Those with the lowest LDL cholesterol (94-116 mg/dL or 2.4-3.0 mmol/l) had a 40% increase in death rates compared to those with the highest LDL cholesterol (165-196 or 4.3-5.0 mmol/l).
(c) Those with the lowest HDL cholesterol (32-40 mg/dL or .8-1.0 mmol/l) had a 70% increase in death rates compared to those with the highest HDL cholesterol (60-73 or 1.5-1.9 mmol/l).

The results of this study show that lower levels of cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol are linked to an earlier death.

Low levels of HDL cholesterol lead to an increased death rate

This study was published in the Journal of Lipid Research 2012 Feb;53(2):266-72

Study title and author:

Fifty-three year follow-up of coronary heart disease versus HDL2 and other lipoproteins in Gofman's Livermore Cohort.

Williams PT.

Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. ptwilliams@lbl.gov

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22128321

This study assessed the relationship of high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels with total death rates and heart disease death rates. The study lasted for 53 years and included 1,905 men.

HDL cholesterol is made of HDL 2 and HDL 3. HDL 2 is larger than HDL 3.

After analysing 53 years of data the study found:
(a) Those with the lowest HDL 2 cholesterol had a 22% increase in total death rates.
(b) Those with the lowest HDL 2 cholesterol had a 63% increase in total heart disease death rates.
(c) Those with the lowest HDL 2 cholesterol had a 117% increase in premature heart disease death rates.
(d) Those with the lowest HDL 3 cholesterol had a 28% increase in total heart disease death rates.
(e) Those with the lowest HDL 3 cholesterol had a 71% increase in premature heart disease death rates.

The results of the study show that low levels of HDL cholesterol, especially HDL 2 cholesterol, are associated with higher total death rates and higher death rates from heart disease.

The best dietary way to raise HDL cholesterol levels is to eat a diet high in saturated fat. See here.