CDC research shows total cholesterol is declining in the U.S.

• Serum total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol contribute significantly to atherosclerosis and its related adverse effects, according to background information in the article.
• Previous analyses of data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) showed that mean (average) levels of total cholesterol of U.S. adults had declined from 1960-1962 to 1988-1994, and average levels of LDL cholesterol (available beginning in 1976) had declined between 1976-1980 and 1988-1994.
• Margaret D. Carroll, M.S.P.H., of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Hyattsville, Md., and colleagues evaluated trends in lipids between 1960 and 2002 and examined potential contributing factors to the trends observed.
• The researchers found: "The age-adjusted [average] total cholesterol level of adults 20 years or older decreased from 206 mg/dL (5.34 mmol/L) in 1988-1994 to 203 mg/dL (5.26 mmol/L) in 1999-2002 and the age-adjusted [average] LDL cholesterol level decreased from 129 mg/dL (3.34 mmol/L) to 123 mg/dL (3.19 mmol/L) during this same period.
• The age-adjusted percentage of adults 20 years or older with serum total cholesterol level of at least 240 mg/dL (6.22 mmol/L or greater) decreased from 20 percent to 17 percent, thereby achieving one of the Healthy People 2010 objectives."
• The authors say that a factor that likely contributed to the decrease in total and LDL cholesterol observed predominantly in the older age groups is the use of cholesterol-lowering medication.
• "It appears that the decreases in total and LDL cholesterol may have been influenced more by increased medication use rather than by positive lifestyle changes.
• Increasing prevalence of obesity among adults may have contributed to a blunting in the decrease in total and LDL cholesterol levels, as reflected in the observed trend toward increased triglyceride levels.
• However, further research is needed to assess simultaneously the effects of lipid-lowering medications and other lifestyle factors on lipids."