<mostly OT, although I suppose I could claim some KOSP relevance <g>)
Low cholesterol associated with significantly increased mortality in the elderly:
Cholesterol and all-cause mortality in elderly people from the Honolulu Heart Program: a cohort study
Methods: Lipid and serum cholesterol concentrations were measured in 3572 Japanese/American men (aged 71-93 years) as part of the Honolulu Heart Program. We compared changes in these concentrations over 20 years with all-cause mortality using three different Cox proportional hazards models.
Findings: Mean cholesterol fell significantly with increasing age. Age-adjusted mortality rates were 68·3, 48·9, 41·1, and 43·3 for the first to fourth quartiles of cholesterol concentrations, respectively. Relative risks for mortality were 0·72 (95% CI 0·60-0·87), 0·60 (0·49-0·74), and 0·65 (0·53-0·80), in the second, third, and fourth quartiles, respectively, with quartile 1 as reference. A Cox proportional hazard model assessed changes in cholesterol concentrations between examinations three and four. Only the group with low cholesterol concentration at both examinations had a significant association with mortality (risk ratio 1·64, 95% CI 1·13-2·36).
Interpretation: We have been unable to explain our results. These data cast doubt on the scientific justification for lowering cholesterol to very low concentrations (<4·65 mmol/L) in elderly people.
thelancet.com
Clearly the cholesterol story is much more complex than the medical establishment would have us believe. Unfortunately the study didn't break down the cholesterol by type.
Note this is by no means the first study that has associated low cholesterol with excess mortality. Early speculation for the link was that some cancer patients have low cholesterol, but the duration of this latest study pretty much rules out that explanation.
Peter |
