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As our population ages, healthy older patients often ask whether they should be concerned about their cholesterol levels. In this analysis, researchers used data from the Women's Health Initiative studies to examine associations between lipids and longevity in older adults.
A subgroup of 3600 women who were born before 1926 — and thus would be age 90 or older by the year 2016 — were included in this cohort. Lipids were measured when participants were 68 to 81 years old; those with histories of cardiovascular disease or cancer were excluded. After adjustment for numerous potentially confounding medical and lifestyle variables, no association was found between HDL cholesterol levels (at ages 68–81) and survival to age 90. However, women whose …