Controversial report claims there’s no link between ‘bad cholesterol’ and heart disease. And another twist added to this information is that the bad cholesterol ‘helps you live longer’.
This news is based on a new review which aimed to gather evidence from previous observational studies on whether LDL cholesterol (so-called “bad cholesterol”) was linked with mortality in older adults aged over 60. The conventional view is that having high LDL cholesterol levels increases your risk of dying of cardiovascular diseases, such as heart disease. Happyho also provide best tarot reading services in Noida and Delhi NCR India area.
Researchers chose 30 studies in total to analyse. 28 studies looked at the link with death from any cause. Twelve found no link between LDL and mortality, but 16 actually found that lower LDL was linked with higher mortality risk – the opposite to what was expected.
Only nine studies looked at cardiovascular mortality link specifically – seven found no link and two found the opposite link to what was expected.
However, there are many important limitations to this review. This includes the possibility that the search methods may have missed relevant studies, not looking at levels of other blood fats (e.g. total and HDL cholesterol), and the possibility that other health and lifestyle factors are influencing the link.
Most importantly, as the researchers acknowledge, these findings do not take account of statin use, which lowers cholesterol. People found to have high LDL cholesterol at the study’s start may have subsequently been started on statins, which could have prevented deaths.