title: Which cholesterol level is related to the lowest mortality in a population with low mean cholesterol level: a 6.4-year follow-up study of 482,472 Korean men.
abstract: To evaluate the relation between low cholesterol level and mortality, the authors followed 482,472 Korean men aged 30-65 years from 1990 to 1996 after a baseline health examination. The mean cholesterol level of the men was 189.1 mg/100 ml at the baseline measurement. There were 7,894 deaths during the follow-up period. A low cholesterol level (<165 mg/100 ml) was associated with increased risk of total mortality, even after eliminating deaths that occurred in the first 5 years of follow-up. The risk of death from coronary heart disease increased significantly in men with the highest cholesterol level (> or =252 mg/100 ml). There were various relations between cholesterol level and cancer mortality by site. Mortality from liver and colon cancer was significantly associated with a very low cholesterol level (<135 mg/100 ml) without any evidence of a preclinical cholesterol-lowering effect. With lengthening follow-up, the significant relation between a very low cholesterol level (<135 mg/100 ml) and mortality from stomach and esophageal cancer disappeared. The cholesterol level related with the lowest mortality ranged from 211 to 251 mg/100 ml, which was higher than the mean cholesterol level of study subjects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, SungKyunKwan University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea. ymsong@smc.samsung.co.kr
authors.forename: Y M
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sung
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood*; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality*; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality / Q000639:trends*; D018570:Risk Assessment
chemical_list: D002784:Cholesterol