Posted on 03/29/2008 1:37:17 PM PDT by Mount Athos
A health study by Japanese researchers has found that people with low levels of LDL cholesterol -- often referred to as "bad cholesterol" -- are more likely to die than those with higher levels.
The finding comes as Japan prepares to introduce special health checkups from April, which list high LDL cholesterol as a factor in deciding whether a person has metabolic syndrome. It is likely the results of the survey will stir debate over the designation of LDL cholesterol as "bad."
The study was led by Tokai University professor Yoichi Ogushi, who surveyed roughly 26,000 people who had at least two health checkups between 1987 and 2006, following them for an average of 8.1 years. The subjects were divided into seven groups based on their LDL cholesterol readings, and the relationship between the readings and people's deaths was examined.
Researchers found that in terms of overall deaths, men and women in the group with the lowest LDL cholesterol level (79 milligrams per deciliter of blood or less) had the highest death rate.
For men, the yearly death rate worked out at about 3,400 deaths per 100,000 people - about 1.6 times higher than the group with the lowest death rate, whose LDL cholesterol level was between 140 and 159 milligrams. The figure for women stood at about 1,900 deaths per 100,000 people, or about 1.3 times more than the group with the lowest death rate, which covered people with LDL cholesterol levels between 120 and 139 milligrams per deciliter of blood.
When deaths were restricted to strokes and heart attacks -- ailments believed to be caused by high LDL cholesterol levels -- the death rate climbed for men with levels of 180 milligrams or more. For women, however, there appeared to be almost no relationship between their LDL cholesterol level and the death rate.
Deaths from cancer and respiratory ailments, on the other hand, increased among men and women with low LDL cholesterol levels, lifting the overall death rate.
Ogushi suggests that the appropriate LDL cholesterol level for men is between 100 and 180 milligrams per deciliter of blood. He suggests women should have a level of at least 120 milligrams.
In health checkups from April, people with readings of 120 milligrams or more will be advised to lower their LDL cholesterol levels, but Ogushi questions this advice.
"Excessively lowering an LDL level that is within an appropriate range is dangerous," he said. "Cholesterol is needed in the body and immune function drops when it is low, and it is possible that the death rate rises as a result."
Oops! I do stuff like that all the time, LOL.
Okay....but what if you have small, dense, non buoyant LDL? That’s what I have. Been told it’s hereditary, not good, and the best thing to do is eat healthy and exercise...which I do. VAP Cholesterol tests tell you this.
My dad was taking Lipitor, and had very bad effects from it in the area of cognitive abilities. I did some reading up on it; after a physical at my Doc, one of his assistants called me and was ready to write me a script for Lipitor.
I flatly refused. I think my exact words were: "no way in hell".
Quite frankly, I feel fine. I still eat, drink and smoke what I want, when I want. If I keel over with a massive heart attack tomorrow, so be it. I'd rather go quick than slowly fade away, and be put into some aging warehouse like most people these days. If it ever comes down to that; my family has standing orders: give me a gun.
There are people who can eat anything and have no problem
They are NOT in the majority and citing them as examples is NOT productive to a healthy life style
The majority of people need to watch their diet as far as intake of trans and saturated fats
Again it is the ratio of Total to HD and the HD number that is critical-—if your HD is below 40 you have a PROBLEM if the ratio is 4 or below you are OK
I have been reading a lot about inflammation lately, and it seems Lipitor not only brings down cholesterol levels but also slightly reduces inflammation. Bet inflammation and cholesterol levels are somehow tied together.
My mom and aunt both have Cholesterol levels over 300 and are 88 and 91 respectively. My father-in-law had high cholesterol and died at 84 albeit from a heart attack. My cholesterol is 290, but my HDL is 60 which for a guy is out the roof. My younger sister has bought into the whole statin thing and has been on them for 5 years trying to get her cholesterol down. She refuses to consider the evidence of her mother and aunt versus her doctor’s orders.
For years my Total was 200 + or -5
My HDs were 49-52
I a man avid execiser
Changing my diet my total went to 185 and my HDs to 74
You could live forever:).
I've seen plenty of by-pass, stroke, brain hemorrhage and other things, in my own family. I've also seen all the pharmacology at work, and I've seen the slide down from there.
Sorry, I've become quite jaded on such subject as of late. So as for when the time comes...
My husband’s HDL is 86.....in 2003 it was 101....and his cholesterol is around 265....the doc wanted to put him on statins....I said NO WAY! P.S. he’s part FINNISH...they are KNOWN for high cholesterol levels.
Yes....getting your CRP checked is probably more useful than getting your cholesterol checked.
This I've witnessed (not experienced) first hand.
As a family member these days; it's tough to keep up with all the pharmacology that is prescribed for our loved ones. And then observe the changes over time. If you're not around that person all the time, then by the time you notice bad things, it can be way too late.
I'm not putting down pharmacology per se, just saying that it can be more art than science.
I had a physical in 2005, during which the cholesterol screening showed a total of 210. I was told by my doc that that number was on the high side of normal, but despite being WAY overweight, he never mentioned anything about cholesterol meds.
I ended up in the hospital on Christmas Day, short of breath. I was in A-Fib, and my PB was high. Turns out, my heart function was at about 15%, but after several days of testing, they realized that there was no underlying heart disease, and that I must have had a virus that attacked the heart. After a few days of some powerful drugs, the function had increased up to 40%.
I had a follow-up with my regular Doc (a different one from the one I'd seen in 2005), in mid January, and he made noises about putting me on cholesterol meds, based on my Christmas experience. I told him I'd never had high cholesterol, or BP for that matter, even at my highest weight and nine months pregnant. I had a full physical three weeks ago, and my total cholesterol was at 183, with both HDL and LDL numbers right smack dab in the middle of the normal range. I guess my Doc won't be worrying about those cholesterol meds, after all. ;o)
Actually, statins are a potent anti-inflammatory.
It just shows that cholesterol chemistry can be a very idiosyncratic thing and people shouldn’t make inferences from experiments using subjects with different traits.
Congratulations on sticking to the healthful diet and exercise (more than I can claim).
They put my wife on statins a couple of years ago and within a week she was having muscle cramps. I took her off of them and put her on flush-free Niacin which lowered her cholesterol without the issues. Based on my family history I am not too worried about my numbers at this time.
I've been working in a technical fields my entire life and am not that cynical but what do I know..maybe medicine is different? I doubt it though.
For evidence of Research Prostitution one need look no further than "Global Warming".
Your opinion on "Global Warming" doesn't make it junk science.
Lovastatin has brought my total cholesterol from the mid two hundreds down to under 200, and the LDL from the one-fiftys down to the one-teens. But the lovastatin has been a pain — joints, muscles, old injuries, etc. Maybe it is not worth it.
Have your clients have their CRP levels checked and forget about the cholesterol. They’ll do much better if they learn how to bring down CRP if it’s high.
Note all the negative experience with statins on this thread.
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