JACC: Falling off the altar, good cholesterol does not reduce the risk of heart disease

Cholesterol is a fatty substance that is mainly produced by the liver and is essential
for the proper functioning of the body.
High-density lipoprotein (HDL) transports cholesterol from cells to the liver, where it is broken down or excreted as waste products, known as "good cholesterol.
"
Low-density lipoprotein (LDL), which carries cholesterol to cells, and excess cholesterol can form arteriosclerosis in the artery wall, also known as "bad cholesterol"
.

It has long been widely believed that low levels of HDL are bad for health, and that high levels of HDL can prevent cardiovascular disease
.

Researchers from the University of Vermont and Oregon Health and Science University published a research paper titled "Race-Dependent Association of High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Levels With Incident Coronary Artery Disease" in the journal "JACC" of the American College of Cardiology
。

The study showed that good cholesterol does not prevent cardiovascular disease risk and even increases it
.
High levels of good cholesterol do not reduce heart disease risk, while low levels of good cholesterol are associated with
an increased risk of coronary heart disease.
It may not be an effective screening tool
for heart disease risk.

In the study, the researchers analyzed data from 23,901 participants in the REGARDS (Causes of Geographic and Racial Disparities in Stroke) study, with an average age of 64, participants who participated in REGARDS between 2003 and 2007, black and white participants with similar characteristics such as age, cholesterol levels and potential risk factors for heart disease, the researchers analyzed information
collected over more than a decade.

During an average follow-up period of 10 years, 664 blacks and 951 whites experienced heart attacks or heart-attack-related deaths
.

The study found that elevated levels of bad cholesterol and triglycerides were associated with a slightly increased risk of cardiovascular disease, consistent with
previous findings.

However, the study found for the first time that low levels of good cholesterol only predicted an increased risk of cardiovascular disease in whites, not blacks
.

Importantly, the study also found that high levels of good cholesterol were not associated with a reduction in coronary heart disease events in either white and black people, suggesting that high levels of good cholesterol may not confer benefits
for cardiovascular disease.

Low levels of HDL are only harmful to white people, and high levels of HDL do not reduce cardiovascular events

Next, the researchers analyzed the role of good cholesterol in supporting heart health and found that quality trumped quantity, and that functional quality may be more important
than having more good cholesterol.

The researchers say that HDL cholesterol has long been a mysterious risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and there is a need to study the epidemiology of lipid metabolism in more depth, especially in how
ethnicity alters or regulates these relationships.

Cardiovascular disease is the world's leading cause of death and the largest cause
of death in China.
According to the World Health Organization, nearly 18 million people die from cardiovascular disease every year, accounting for more than
30% of all deaths worldwide.
Studies have shown that using good cholesterol does not predict the risk of cardiovascular disease in all people, and that risk factors for heart disease need to apply to everyone
.