A 43-year follow-up study of nearly 400,000 people recently published by The Lancet showed that elevated cholesterol levels are closely related to cardiovascular diseases such as myocardial infarction, coronary heart disease or stroke (cerebral infarction). It is of concern that the risk of cardiovascular disease is most closely linked to the increase in non-high-density cholesterol among young people. If the cholesterol level is reduced by 50%, it can effectively reduce the cardiovascular risk of all age groups, especially the young group (Application of non-HDL cholesterol for population-based cardiovascular risk stratification, The Lancet, V394, I-10215, P2173 , DECEMBER 14, 2019).
In this study, the researchers selected 398,846 (average age 51) healthy people without cardiovascular disease, and followed them for an average of 13.5 years (up to 43 years) for cardiovascular events. The results showed that with the increase of non-HDL cholesterol, the incidence of cardiovascular disease in 30 years gradually increased, and the 30-year incidence of cardiovascular disease in the group with the highest non-HDL cholesterol (≥5.7 mmol/L) was higher than that in the lowest group ( <2.6 mmol/L) 3-4 times higher. Shows that there is a very close relationship between non-HDL cholesterol levels and future cardiovascular risk.
It is worth noting that regardless of men and women, blood lipid levels, non-HDL cholesterol levels have the greatest impact on the youngest population, which is higher than average. For example, non-HDL cholesterol ≥5.7 mmol/L, 30-year cardiovascular risk increased by 3.3 times and 3.6 times for women and men younger than 45 years old! Although the level of non-HDL cholesterol has less impact on middle-aged and elderly people than on young people, the impact is still significant even in people 60 years and older. Further research found that if the level of non-HDL cholesterol is reduced by 50%, the long-term risk of cardiovascular disease is also significantly reduced (from 15.6% to 3.6% for women and from 28.8% to 6.4% for men).
Currently, most people do not start routine cholesterol testing until they are 50 years old. The research data suggests that checking cholesterol levels in advance to a younger age is more meaningful to prevent cardiovascular disease. Because they have high cholesterol when they are young, such as 20 years old, by the age of 50, they have lived under high cholesterol levels for 30 years, and many injuries have been caused. Early inspection, early detection and early intervention can minimize the negative health effects of high cholesterol.
Dr. Stefan Blankenberg said: “The earlier you lower the cholesterol concentration, the more obvious the risk reduction.” Therefore, prevention of high cholesterol and lowering cholesterol should start with young people, adopt a healthy lifestyle as soon as possible, and pay attention to increasing the intake of nuts, vegetables and fruits. Foods containing plant sterols. Because plant sterols can balance dietary cholesterol, lower non-HDL cholesterol levels, and help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Globally, cardiovascular disease (CVD) has always been the leading cause of death. It imposes a huge financial burden on individuals, families, and public finances, including expenditures for hospitalization, long-term disease control, heart attacks and stroke recurrences.
In addition, it also includes functional damage and associated costs, because affected families may lose their main source of income, or have to ask other family members to quit their jobs and take care of cardiovascular disease patients in Canada. Early retirement or death will also reduce government tax revenue and be forced to “remove the eastern wall and supplement the western wall” financially in order to maintain the existing medical and health system, ensure availability, and cope with rising costs. This burden is mainly caused by four modifiable risk factors: smoking, high blood pressure, obesity and high cholesterol. Although these factors have brought negative effects, they are often overlooked, especially the two “silent” or less obvious factors, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, which have no significant symptoms.
