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

Saturday 10 April 2010

Low HDL cholesterol and increased heart disease

This study was published in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology 2002 Jul 1;22(7):1155-61

Study title and authors:
Value of HDL cholesterol, apolipoprotein A-I, lipoprotein A-I, and lipoprotein A-I/A-II in prediction of coronary heart disease: the PRIME Study. Prospective Epidemiological Study of Myocardial Infarction.
Luc G, Bard JM, Ferrières J, Evans A, Amouyel P, Arveiler D, Fruchart JC, Ducimetière P.
Department of Atherosclerosis, INSERM UR545, Institut Pasteur de Lille, and University Lille II, Lille, France. Gerald.Luc@pasteur-lille.fr

The paper can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12117731

The study examined the association between the incidence of coronary heart disease and levels of high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I), and 2 HDL fractions, lipoprotein A-I and lipoprotein A-I:A-II in 9,073 French and Northern Irish men over a 5 year period.

The study found:
(a) All 4 HDL cholesterol parameter levels were lower in coronary heart disease patients than in coronary heart disease-free subjects.
(b) Low levels of apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) were a particularly strong predictor of heart disease.

The paper illustrates how low levels of HDL cholesterol and especially low levels of apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) are a strong predictor of heart disease.

The most effective dietary way to raise HDL cholesterol is to consume a diet rich in saturated fat. See here, here, here and here.