High youth cholesterol…

... predicts risk of heart disease later in life

UCSF researchers conducted a longitudinal 20-year study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, which found that young adults in their 20s and 30s with even mildly elevated cholesterol levels are more likely to develop coronary artery calcium and atherosclerosis when they are older. According to the first author on the study, Mark J. Pletcher, an associate professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and of Medicine at UCSF, the findings question the common assumption that non-optimal cholesterol levels are insignificant during young adulthood. The implication of this is to suggest a stronger emphasis on early lifestyle intervention.

‘We don’t usually worry too much about heart disease risk until a person is in middle age because it’s rare to have a heart attack in young adulthood,’ Dr Pletcher said. ‘However, our evidence shows that young adulthood is an important time because lasting damage already starts to accumulate at this age.’ He added that ‘In order to prevent heart disease and stroke more effectively, we should be thinking about cholesterol at a younger age.’

Source: Science Daily, 3 August 2010.

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