Low cholesterol increases cancer rates by 42%

This study was published in the Annals of Oncology 2009 Jun;20(6):1113-20

Study title and authors:

Time-dependent association of total serum cholesterol and cancer incidence in a cohort of 172,210 men and women: a prospective 19-year follow-up study.

Strasak AM, Pfeiffer RM, Brant LJ, Rapp K, Hilbe W, Oberaigner W, Lang S, Borena W, Concin H, Diem G, Ruttmann E, Glodny B, Pfeiffer KP, Ulmer H; VHM&PP Study Group.

Department of Medical Statistics, Informatics and Health Economics, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria. alexander.strasak@i-med.ac.at

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19164459

The study investigated the association of cholesterol levels with subsequent cancer incidence in 172,210 Austrian adults who were followed for up to 19 years. 

The study found:
(a) Cancer rates in the men with the highest cholesterol (more than 235 mg/dL or 6.0 mmol/l) were up to 42% lower than the men with the lowest cholesterol.
(b) Cancer rates in the women with the highest cholesterol (more than 229 mg/dL or 5.9 mmol/l) were up to 31% lower than the women with the lowest cholesterol.

The study shows how low cholesterol is associated with increased cancer rates in men and women.