Lack of an association or an inverse association between low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol and mortality in the elderly: a systematic review


(Todd Allen) #1

Conclusions
High LDL-C is inversely associated with mortality in most people over 60 years. This finding is inconsistent with the cholesterol hypothesis (ie, that cholesterol, particularly LDL-C, is inherently atherogenic).

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4908872/


(Jay Patten) #2

I have read similar studies that suggest high LDL in people 60+ is actually a good thing because they are less likey to die from infection.


(Todd Allen) #3

I find this study interesting because after going keto my only biomarkers of health that got “worse” were increasing cholesterols, both LDL and Total. After the bad news I got a fancier more expensive particle counting cholesterol test which showed I was pattern A and a note from the lab that despite my unusually high levels the profile was excellent and they categorized me as “lowest risk”. Keto tends to improve/raise HDL and lower triglycerides but can also significantly raise the supposedly bad LDL. This study suggests LDL isn’t bad. I’ve been looking at other studies which suggest oxidized cholesterol may be the real problem but it is hard to measure. A promising proxy for oxidized LDL which appears to correlate well is remnant cholesterol. It isn’t reported on standard lipid panels but can be calculated by TC-(LDL+HDL).

Also, much of the demonization of saturated fats and animal foods in general has been based on the observation that they raise LDL while plant based fats, vegetable oils and even olive oil lower LDL. Here’s an interesting podcast from Chris Masterjohn which discusses the crumbling of evidence against saturated fat and cholesterol upon which so much of our dietary misguidance has been based.
https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/2017/06/24/coconut-oil-killing-us/


(Jay Patten) #4

I am going to request a similar lipid panel when I get my annual check up. I’m quite interested to see how my cholesterol has changed over the last few years. I suspect that it will improve because while I eat high fat and low carb, I only eat once a day (compared to the 3 times per day that I used to eat). So, in theory, I actually comsume less fat and meat than I used to.


(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #5

The study is also consistent with Dave Feldman’s understanding of the purpose of cholesterol and lipoproteins.