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 7 June 2014

Men with low cholesterol, 140 mg/dL (3.6 mmol/L), have a higher risk of death compared to men with higher cholesterol of 250mg/dL (6.5 mmol/L)

This study was published in the Lancet 1986 Oct 25;2(8513):933-6

Study title and authors:
Serum cholesterol, blood pressure, and mortality: implications from a cohort of 361,662 men.
Martin MJ, Hulley SB, Browner WS, Kuller LH, Wentworth D.

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2877128

The study determined the effects of cholesterol levels in middle-aged men. The study lasted six years and included 361,662 men aged 35-57.

The study found that men with cholesterol levels of ~140 mg/dL (3.6 mmol/L) had a ~14% increased risk of death compared to men with cholesterol levels of ~250 mg/dL (6.5 mmol/L).

Despite the fact the study revealed men with lower cholesterol levels had higher death rates, this study was used as evidence in the first report of The National Cholesterol Education Program in 1988 to lower the upper limit of normal cholesterol levels from 250mg/dL (6.5 mmol/L) to 200mg/dL (5.2 mmol/L).