Hat tip to Peter of Hyperlipid
Researchers from Norway, Iceland and Sweden reviewed data from the ten year Norwegian HUNT2 study to see whether the official guidance that high Cholesterol levels being a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) were valid.
Guess what - hilarious result - high levels of cholesterol is not linked to risks of CVD or Total Mortality.
In fact, for women, higher levels of Cholesterol are associated with increased longevity - sorry lads!.
See the study here in more detail.
They are circumspect in their language in that they say "clinical and public health recommendations regarding the ‘dangers’ of cholesterol should be revised" and initially I thought 'fantastic, brave guys, hooray' but then the Civil Servant in me (I was one for 14 years) began to read the 'Discussion' section and I got a bit peeved.
They are almost apologetic for their findings and try to come up with reasons why the results contradict the official guidance, which having read it a number of times maybe what was inserted was required to get it through the process of publication. So I think that they truely understand the enormity of what they have published.
What is great is the final paragraph
"‘Know your numbers’ (a concept pertaining to medical risk factor levels,
including cholesterol) is currently considered part of responsible
citizenship, as well as an essential element of preventive medical care.
Many individuals who could otherwise call themselves healthy struggle
conscientiously to push their cholesterol under the presumed ‘danger’
limit (i.e. the recommended cut-off point of 5 mmol L−1),
coached by health personnel, personal trainers and caring family
members. Massive commercial interests are linked to drugs and other
remedies marketed for this purpose. It is therefore of immediate and
wide interest to find out whether our results are generalizable to other
populations. "
Damn right mate !
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