HEALTHY DIETS AND SCIENCE: Low HDL cholesterol levels are associated with increases in deaths from heart disease and cancer

The raison d'etre of this website is to provide you with hard scientific information which may help you make informed decisions in your quest for health (so far I have blogged concise summaries of over 1,500 scientific studies and have had three books published).

My research is mainly focused on the effects of cholesterol, saturated fat and statin drugs on health. If you know anyone who is worried about their cholesterol levels and heart disease, or has been told to take statin drugs you could send them a link to this website, and to my statin or cholesterol or heart disease books.

David Evans

Independent Health Researcher

Sunday 22 April 2012

Low HDL cholesterol levels are associated with increases in deaths from heart disease and cancer

This study was published in Arteriosclerosis 1988 Nov-Dec;8(6):737-41

Study title and authors:

High density lipoprotein cholesterol and mortality. The Framingham Heart Study.

Wilson PW, Abbott RD, Castelli WP.

Framingham Epidemiology Research Section, NHLBI, Massachusetts.

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3196218

This 12 year study examined the association of high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels with death rates from heart disease and cancer. The study included 2,748 participants aged 50 to 79.

The study found:
(a) Both men and women with the highest HDL cholesterol levels also had the highest total cholesterol levels.
(b) Men with the lowest HDL cholesterol levels had a 92% increase in death rates compared to the men with the highest HDL cholesterol levels.
(c) Women with the lowest HDL cholesterol levels had a 47% increase in death rates compared to the women with the highest HDL cholesterol levels.
(d) Men with the lowest HDL cholesterol levels had a 309% increase in heart disease death rates compared to the men with the highest HDL cholesterol levels.
(e) Women with the lowest HDL cholesterol levels had a 207% increase in heart disease death rates compared to the women with the highest HDL cholesterol levels.
(f) Men with the lowest HDL cholesterol levels had a 17% increase in cancer death rates compared to the men with the highest HDL cholesterol levels.
(g) Women with the lowest HDL cholesterol levels had an 8% increase in cancer death rates compared to the women with the highest HDL cholesterol levels.

The results of this study show that men and women with the lowest HDL cholesterol levels also had the lowest total cholesterol levels, and that low HDL cholesterol levels are associated with increases in deaths from heart disease and cancer.

Eating a diet rich in saturated fat is the best way to raise HDL cholesterol levels. See here.