Low cholesterol levels increase the risk of death from stroke, cancer and all-causes

This study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association 1995 Jun 28;273(24):1926-32

Study title and authors:
Serum total cholesterol and mortality. Confounding factors and risk modification in Japanese-American men.

Iribarren C, Reed DM, Burchfiel CM, Dwyer JH.
Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Southern California School of Medicine, Los Angeles 90033, USA.

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7783302

The study investigated the relationship between cholesterol levels and death rates due to major causes. The study included 7,049 middle-aged men who were followed for 23 years.

The study found:
(a) Men with the lowest cholesterol levels, below 4.66 mmol/l (180 mg/dL), had a 141% increased risk of death from hemorrhagic stroke compared to the men with cholesterol levels up to 6.19 mmol/l (239 mg/dL).
(b) Men with the lowest cholesterol levels, below 4.66 mmol/l (180 mg/dL), had a 41% increased risk of death from cancer compared to the men with cholesterol levels up to 6.19 mmol/l (239 mg/dL).
(c) Men with the lowest cholesterol levels, below 4.66 mmol/l (180 mg/dL), had a 23% increased risk of death compared to the men with cholesterol levels up to 6.19 mmol/l (239 mg/dL).

The results of the study show that middle-aged men with low cholesterol are at greater risk of death from stroke, cancer and all-causes compared to men with higher cholesterol.

Links to other studies:
Low cholesterol levels lead to a 20.2% increase in death rates in those who have had a stroke
Low cholesterol leads to increased cancer rates
Low cholesterol levels lead to increased cancer and death rates