Low Total Cholesterol and Increased Risk of Dying: Are Low Levels Clinical Warning Signs in the Elderly? Results from the Italian Longitudinal Study on Aging

Abstract

Subjects with low TC levels (<189 mg/dL) are at higher risk of dying even when many related factors have been taken into account. Although more data are needed to clarify the association between TC and all-cause mortality in older individuals, physicians may want to regard very low levels of cholesterol as potential warning signs of occult disease or as signals of rapidly declining health.