Cholesterol findings
August 13, 2010
WOMEN’S cholesterol levels are
consistently higher than men’s,
according to a new study
undertaken by the Baker IDI Heart
and Diabetes Institute.
The study looked at around
200,000 GP patient records
spanning a six year period and
found middle-aged women overall
had the highest cholesterol levels of
all patients clocking average levels
of 5.5mmol/L compared to their
male counterparts who registered
averages of 5.3mmol/L.
Four out of five women aged
between 45 and 65 years had
higher than target level LDL (bad)
cholesterol levels over 2.5mmol/L,
whilst 34% clocked lower than
recommended levels of HDL
(good) cholesterol (under
1mmol/L).
“It is concerning to find that
many women are neglecting
their heart health,” said study
author, Professor Simon Stewart.
“We know cardiovascular
disease is the biggest cause of
death in Australian women and
this data suggests there could be
over a million middle aged
women and more than two
million adult Australian women
living with cholesterol levels
above ideal levels,” he added.
Overall adult women were also
found to have higher bad
cholesterol levels than men, with
2009 averages for the former being
5.2mmol/L compared to 5.1mmol/L
for men.
Of interest was also the fact that
economic status isn’t correlated to
cholesterol rates, with levels of
good, bad and total cholesterol
consistent between patients in both
high and low income areas.
“The early findings of this study
should serve as a wake-up call to
all Australians, and in particular
middle-aged Australian women,”
said Stewart.
“Getting LDL cholesterol levels
down and HDL cholesterol levels
higher is critically important for
maintaining heart health and
reducing risk of heart attack and
stroke.
“We have been too complacent
for too long about this important
health issue,” he added.
For more information, visit the
Baker IDI website at
www.bakeridi.edu.au.
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