of with a statin is a waste of time, supports international science team in an article published in the journal BMJ Open. The researchers, led by the Ουφε Ραβνσκοφ, former assistant professor of Nephrology at the University of Lund of Sweden, επαναξιολόγησαν data on almost 70,000 people and found that there is no relationship between what is traditionally characterized as “bad” cholesterol, and premature deaths in people over the age of 60 from cardiovascular disease.
They observed that 92% of people with high cholesterol were living longer.
The authors of the study call for a reassessment of the guidelines for the prevention of cardiovascular disease and atherosclerosis because “the benefits of treatment with statins have been overstated”.
As expected, the review has provoked strong reactions in the scientific community that doubts the reliability of the results.
Professor Kolin Μπαϊτζεντ, an epidemiologist at the University of Oxford notes that the new study has “serious weaknesses and, therefore, has ended up in completely the wrong conclusion”.
The cardiologist, Dr. Tim Chico adds that it would convince him more of a randomized study where the patients reduce their cholesterol with statins and a control group took a dummy treatment.
“There have been several studies that have checked if high cholesterol increases the risk of heart disease by reducing cholesterol in elderly individuals and have made comments if this reduces the risk of heart disease. And these studies have shown that lowering cholesterol with drugs actually reduces the risk of heart disease in the elderly. And I think this is more exciting than the elements of the new review,” notes Dr. Chico.
Also the British Heart Foundation is questioning the study, pointing out that the relationship between high LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and death of the elderly is difficult to diagnose because as people grow older, more and more factors define the general state of their health.
“There is no such element in this work that supports the claims of the authors that the studies that examined disputed the view that the LDL cholesterol is a major cause of heart disease, or that the guidelines for the reduction of LDL cholesterol in the elderly should be reviewed,” says a representative of the British Heart Foundation.
Dr Malcolm Kendrick, a member of the editorial team of the research admits that the results are expected to come under some dispute, but the marking “powerful” and “thoroughly researched”.
“What we have seen in the detailed systematic review is that elderly people with high LDL cholesterol, the so-called ‘bad’ cholesterol, they lived longer and had less heart disease,” stresses.
Professor Sherif Σουλταν from the University of Ireland, who also participated in the review, supplements that cholesterol is one of the “most vital” molecules of the body and prevents infections, cancer, muscle pain and other diseases in the elderly.
“Reducing cholesterol with medication for primary cardiovascular prevention in persons over 60 years of age is a real waste of time and resources, while the lifestyle change is the single most important way to achieve a good quality of life supports.
As you know, the increase of cholesterol attributable to the unhealthy diet and, in particular, the consumption of many saturated fats, and smoking.
Cholesterol circulates in the blood, bind to lipoproteins and has been associated with cardiovascular diseases, such as coronary heart disease, stroke and peripheral arterial disease.
Source
High cholesterol does not cause heart disease
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