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SAN ANTONIO, Mar 02 (Reuters Health) - Neither high nor low cholesterol levels are healthy for elderly men, researchers reported Friday. Investigators found that cholesterol levels in a middle range, between 200 and 219 milligrams per deciliter, are the best for older men's hearts.
The American Heart Association recommends total cholesterol levels below 200 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) as being desirable.
Dr. Beatriz L. Rodriguez from the University of Honolulu in Hawaii presented the findings, based on a study of 2,424 Japanese-American men aged 71 to 93, at the American Heart Association's 41st Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention.
"We found that a very high total cholesterol--240 mg/dL or higher--was associated with a 90% increase in risk of developing coronary heart disease compared to a total cholesterol of 200 to 219," Rodriguez said. Meanwhile, cholesterol "below 160 mg/dL increased risk of heart attack by 55%."
Dr. Jess D. Curb, a principal investigator in the Honolulu Heart Study, said that it is hard to understand why there was an association between low cholesterol and increased risk.
He said that "many people, especially women but a number of men as well, have naturally low cholesterol throughout their lives." He said it is unknown if those low cholesterol levels that are considered heart-healthy in middle age will become "a health concern in a rapidly aging population."
Curb said he has a personal interest in this "because my cholesterol is 150."
But he said the "more significant message is probably about the high cholesterol. Many times physicians will say to elderly patients that a very high cholesterol doesn't need to be treated because 'You are old. If cholesterol didn't get you yet, it won't get you.'" He said the new data indicate that message is "clearly wrong. We do need to treat high cholesterol" in elderly people.
Rodriguez said the findings also suggest that "studies of those who are young and middle-aged cannot automatically be applied to the elderly."
The study was supported by a grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
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