Low cholesterol levels and high mortality from stroke

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Susan - 25 Oct 2006 15:31 GMT

The really points to why the low lipid targets promoted by the statin
manufacturers for diabetics and others without ANY proof that they
confer benefits should be ignored, in favor of bg and lipid ratio
improvements.

Susan

"Low serum total cholesterol levels are associated with high mortality
from intraparenchymal hemorrhage while high levels are associated with
high mortality from coronary heart disease among Japanese."

1: Atherosclerosis. 2006 Sep 11; [Epub ahead of print]
Links
Serum total cholesterol levels and risk of mortality from stroke and
coronary heart disease in Japanese: The JACC study.
€ Cui R, Iso H, Toyoshima H, Date C, Yamamoto A, Kikuchi S, Kondo T,
Watanabe Y, Koizumi A, Inaba Y, Tamakoshi A; JACC Study Group.
Department of Public Health Medicine, Graduate School of Comprehensive
Human Science, and Institute of Community Medicine, University of
Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan; Department of Epidemiology and Community
Medicine, Medical College of Nankai University, Tianjin, China.
The relation between serum total cholesterol and coronary heart disease
is well established, but the relations with total stroke and stroke
subtypes are controversial. We conducted a nested case-control study as
part of the JACC study. A total of 39,242 subjects, 40-79 years of age,
provided serum samples at baseline between 1988 and 1990. During the
10-year follow-up, 345 deaths from total strokes (including 76
intraparenchymal hemorrhages) and 150 deaths from coronary heart
diseases were recorded. The control subjects were matched for sex, age,
community, and year of serum storage, and further adjusted for systolic
blood pressure, high density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol, ethanol
intake category, smoking status, and diabetes. Serum total cholesterol
levels were measured using an enzymatic method. Cases with total stroke
and more specifically intraparenchymal hemorrhage had lower mean values
of serum total cholesterol levels compared with control subjects. The
risk of mortality from intraparenchymal hemorrhage was significantly
higher for persons with low total cholesterol levels [less than
4.14mmol/l (160mg/dl)] than with those with higher levels. The risk of
mortality from coronary heart disease for persons with serum total
cholesterol levels more than or equal to 6.72mmol/l (260mg/dl) was
significantly higher than those with levels less than 4.14mmol/l
(160mg/dl). Low serum total cholesterol levels are associated with high
mortality from intraparenchymal hemorrhage while high levels are
associated with high mortality from coronary heart disease among
Japanese.
PMID: 16970954 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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Alan S - 25 Oct 2006 23:41 GMT

>x-no-archive: yes
>
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>
>Susan

Hi Susan

I was going to ask that you add urls to these posts. But
then I wouldn't have found these while searching for that:

http://tinyurl.com/yhjj8w

The second one is very interesting, implying that the
association of low cholesterol with higher death rates is
because those deaths occurred from cancers and other
diseases which actually reduced the cholesterol levels.

In their words:

"Our findings are consistent with a recent systematic review
of published data. That review concluded that in cohort
studies of subjects in community settings the association of
low serum cholesterol concentration with excess mortality
from lung cancer, haemopoietic cancers, suicide, chronic
bronchitis, and chronic liver and bowel disease is
satisfactorily explained by early disease or by factors that
cause the disease, lowering the serum cholesterol
concentration."

It seems a bit odd to me, particularly as suicide is one of
the methods of death and I'm darned if I can see how
depression reduces cholesterol. From the little I've learnt
about depression, it is often associated with poor eating
habits and I doubt that would lead to low cholesterol. But
I'm obviously not a research scientist.

The other papers are more towards the direction you're
heading.
Cheers, Alan, T2, Australia.
d&e, metformin 1000mg, ezetrol 10mg
Everything in Moderation - Except Laughter.
--
http://loraltravel.blogspot.com/
latest: Museum Musings

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Susan - 26 Oct 2006 00:16 GMT

>>x-no-archive: yes
>>
[quoted text clipped - 28 lines]
> cause the disease, lowering the serum cholesterol
> concentration."

> It seems a bit odd to me, particularly as suicide is one of
> the methods of death and I'm darned if I can see how
> depression reduces cholesterol.

Very low cholesterol and very low fat diets cause depression, not the
other way around. In fact, fish oil has been found useful in treating
refractory depression and even bipolar disorder.

From the little I've learnt

> about depression, it is often associated with poor eating
> habits and I doubt that would lead to low cholesterol. But
> I'm obviously not a research scientist.

Last week, I believe, we saw a citation for the finding that LDL targets
were not useful, clinically and did not explain the benefits (if any) of
statins. My point is that setting the targets bizarrely low for
diabetics is based upon numbers pulled out of someone's a.s, not on
sound science or clinical experience.

Susan

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