Science / Medicine : Cholesterol Data Questioned
A team of Stanford University researchers said last week that evidence regarding the value of reducing cholesterol is “incomplete,” adding that low cholesterol may actually be associated with a higher death rate in the elderly.
Dr. Benjamin Littenberg, a clinical scholar, and two other doctors said they reviewed more than 100 published papers about cholesterol screening. They concluded that the value of such tests is questionable for adults with no symptoms of heart disease.
Their recommendations, published in the April 15 volume of the Annals of Internal Medicine, fly in the face of recent campaigns by the National Institutes of Health and the American Medical Assn. The groups and other organizations encourage reduction of cholesterol, the fatty deposits that clog arteries and are generally believed to be linked to heart disease.
Dr. Alan Garber noted that for middle-aged men who have “marked” cholesterol elevation, “in the top 5 or 10%,” treatment with drugs to bring the cholesterol levels down will reduce the heart attack rate.
