膽固醇看來的確是被冤枉了

根據 Sachdeva et al 在 Am Heart J (157:111-117, 2009)雜誌的報導， 近50%的心血管病人的LDL-膽固醇是正常的。這就說明膽固醇不可能是心血管病的病因。否則大多數病人的膽固醇應該是高於正常值。

 

另外一個報導 （Cardiol J, 16:227-233, 2009)顯示，LDL-膽固醇正常的心髒病病人 （LDL-C ＜or =105 mg /dL）3年的死亡率高於LDL-C ＞105mg /dL的心髒病病人 （14.8% vs 7.1%)。這個報導表明膽固醇低可能不利於健康。

 

Lancet. 2001 Aug 4;358(9279):351-5.

Cholesterol and all-cause mortality in elderly people from the Honolulu Heart Program: a cohort study.

Schatz IJ, Masaki K, Yano K, Chen R, Rodriguez BL, Curb JD.

Source

Clinical Epidemiology and Geriatrics Division, Department of Medicine, John A Bums School of Medicine, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1356 Lusitana Street, 7th Floor, Honolulu, HI 96813-2427, USA. [e-mail]

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

A generally held belief is that cholesterol concentrations should be kept low to lessen the risk of cardiovascular disease. However, studies of the relation between serum cholesterol and all-cause mortality in elderly people have shown contrasting results. To investigate these discrepancies, we did a longitudinal assessment of changes in both lipid and serum cholesterol concentrations over 20 years, and compared them with mortality.

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.