Högre kolesterol – mindre risk för stroke

Hittade det här utmärkta uttalandet kring en studie på kolesterol via Annika Dahlqvist. Författaren hittar talande resultat i en stor kolesterolstudie, men forskarna väljer att dra slutsatser baserat på något helt annat. Har sammanfattat det han skriver:

“The idea that cholesterol is a risk factor for heart disease is repeated loudly and often.”….

…”studies show that taking dietary steps to reduce cholesterol does not bring broad benefits for health or save lives. We also have drugs that reduce cholesterol that also do not appear to improve health.”

“a recent study published in the journal Atherosclerosis [1]. In it, more that 82,000 adults in England, UK were followed for an average of over 8 years. The relationship between a range of lifestyle factors and health markers and risk of stroke and heart disease was assessed.
Some of the factors that were associated with an increased risk of both stroke and heart disease were smoking, raised blood pressure, diabetes and low levels of physical activity. “…

…”What the authors appear not to be able to say up front is that their mammoth study found that higher cholesterol levels are not a risk factor for heart disease, though they do admit to the fact that higher cholesterol levels are associated with lower stroke risk. But then they add this: ““Nevertheless lipid-lowering therapy with statins has shown to reduce the incidence of both thrombotic stroke and coronary disease.”

What they appear to be suggesting here is that we should gloss over their findings, because cholesterol-reduction with statins reduces the risk of stroke and heart disease, so cholesterol must cause these conditions after all.

But the thing about statins is that they don’t just reduce cholesterol, but have range of effects that might reduce risk of cardiovascular disease, including anti-inflammatory and blood-thinning properties. Here’s what I believe to be a more logical and honest appraisal of their studies findings.

1. higher cholesterol levels were not associated with heart disease and were associated with a reduced risk of stroke

2. statins reduce the risk of stroke and heart disease

3. any benefits of statins in this regard cannot be due to their cholesterol-reducing properties

Här kan du läsa mer:
http://www.drbriffa.com/2011/09/21/huge-study-finds-gaping-holes-in-the-cholesterol-hypothesis/