High cholesterol in Women found to be the reverse of what they thought it was (less risky)

PubMed ^ | Sept 25, 2011

[Scythian]

Some studies indicate that the predictive properties of cholesterol might not be as straightforward as widely assumed. Our aim was to document the strength and validity of total cholesterol as a risk factor for mortality in a well-defined, general Norwegian population without known CVD at baseline. Methods  We assessed the association of total serum cholesterol with total mortality, as well as mortality from CVD and ischaemic heart disease (IHD), using Cox proportional hazard models. The study population comprises 52 087 Norwegians, aged 20-74, who participated in the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT 2, 1995-1997) and were followed-up on cause-specific mortality for 10 years (510 297 person-years in total).

Results  Among women, cholesterol had an inverse association with all-cause mortality [hazard ratio (HR): 0.94; 95% confidence interval.

Researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology looked at 52,087 individuals between the ages of 20 and 74. After adjusting for factors like age, smoking and blood pressure, researchers found women with high cholesterol (more than 270 mg/dl) had a 28 percent lower mortality risk than women with low cholesterol (under 193 mg/dl). Risk for heart disease, cardiac arrest and stroke also declined as cholesterol levels rose.

Two words people : Magnesium and Pottasium, those are what your body has a deficiency of, not statins IMHO (and what the evidence shows) ...

[Mercat]

Wow. After my doc telling me for two years to start, I just this week started on very low dose of statin. Female. sixties. confused.

[LoveUSA]

Beware of statins. Research everything. Two of my dear friends have been told recently that their mothers have Alzheimer's because they've been on lipitor for 10 years or more.

When my father died of an aortic aneurysm we were told that it's possible his statin drug over-stripped his blood vessels.

The Alzheimer's theory makes sense. Cholesterol is necessary for brain health.

[aruanan]

Also, higher, rather than lower, levels of cholesterol in people over 80 is beneficial, not harmful, probably because they have a greater need of it to maintain cellular membrane structure since cell turnover and repair is decreased in the elderly.

[Scythian]

Statins rip CoQ10 out of your body, very important for the heart. I am not a doctor, but I cannot stress enough how important Magnesium and Potassium are to the human heart, they reduce blood pressure, suppress diabetes, relax the veins, just so much good there. As long as you don’t have any kidney issues work things with Mag and Pottasium into your diet. Remember, always work with your doctor.

[libertarian27]

Everybody sing:
~~Killing me softly with statins~~killing me softly~~with statins~~killing me softly~~

(I won’t touch the stuff)

[bmwcyle]

ping

[Scythian]

bump

[LS]

I strongly recommend Gary Taubes’ incredible book, “Good Calories, Bad Calories,” which contains more actual scientific references than most papers in a medical journal. It is dense, no doubt. But he has said this for years. His newer book, “Why We Get Fat-—and What to Do About It,” is more accessible, but has far less meat (pardon the pun).

[Scythian]

bump

[Darnright]

>I strongly recommend Gary Taubes’ incredible book, “Good Calories, Bad Calories,” which contains more actual scientific references than most papers in a medical journal.<

In addition to Gary’s book, another very enlightening book is William Davis, MD’s book “Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health”.

[Silentgypsy]

Ping

[decimon]

Thanks, Gypsy.

Ping

[Scythian]

bump

[Conservativegreatgrandma]

What about men, or do we just not care about evil white men?

[TalonDJ]

This kind of turnabout shows the problem with one-off studies that conclude things like “too much X increase the risk of you dying by Y.” They are too narrow. Biology is not that simple. Yeah, something like cholesterol might make you more likely to have a heart issue but int probably make you LESS likely to have a host of other issues. It is not a 1 dimensional trade-off.

[little jeremiah]

What about men with higher cholesterol? It would seem as though what’s sauce for the goose would be sauce for the gander.

[Netizen]

(I won’t touch the stuff)

Me either. I wound up in emergency. It was hitting my kidneys really hard. I can't take any of the statins.

[Netizen]

As an addendum, my mother couldn’t take them either, but for her, they messed up her liver.

[Guenevere]

I was taking niacin for cholesterol but it increased the enzyme levels of my liver, so the doctor took me off ..

I have always had good levels before....and I don't drink....so that's why she immediately had me drop the niacin..

I Googled this and it seems it happens quite often....certain supplements....even 'natural' types from health food stores, should be monitored.