"Adults Aged 20-30, Total Cholesterol Over 200 mg/dL Increases Risk of Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Diseases"

Seoul St. Mary's Hospital's Lee Seung-hwan, Yeouido St. Mary's Kim Mi-kyung, and Soongsil University Han Kyung-do Research Team
Study on the Correlation Between Cholesterol Levels and Risk of Myocardial Infarction and Stroke in Young Adults
Big Data Analysis of 6.2 Million Adults Without Diabetes
LDL Cholesterol Above 130 mg/dL Also Poses Risk
Cholesterol Criteria for Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Adults in Their 20s and 30s Proposed

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] A study has found that even young adults with total cholesterol levels of 200 mg/dL or higher and LDL cholesterol levels of 130 mg/dL or higher have an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases such as myocardial infarction and stroke.

The research team led by Seung-hwan Lee from the Department of Endocrinology at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, Catholic University, Mi-kyung Kim from the Department of Endocrinology at Yeouido St. Mary's Hospital, and Kyung-do Han from the Department of Information Statistics and Actuarial Science at Soongsil University announced on the 16th that they studied the correlation between cholesterol concentration and cardiovascular disease risk in young adults and proposed appropriate cholesterol standards.

Based on data from the National Health Insurance Service, the research team investigated the association between cholesterol concentration and cardiovascular diseases (myocardial infarction, stroke) in 6,204,153 adults aged 20 to 39 without diabetes who underwent health checkups. As a result, they confirmed that exceeding total cholesterol of 200 mg/dL, LDL cholesterol of 130 mg/dL, and non-HDL cholesterol of 140 mg/dL significantly increased the risk of cardiovascular diseases. The non-HDL cholesterol level is the value obtained by subtracting HDL cholesterol, known as "good cholesterol," from total cholesterol.

Furthermore, the criteria varied depending on the number of risk factors such as obesity, hypertension, and smoking. In cases with no risk factors, total cholesterol of 240 mg/dL and LDL cholesterol of 150 mg/dL were the thresholds; with one risk factor, total cholesterol of 220 mg/dL and LDL cholesterol of ㎎/㎗; and with two or more risk factors, total cholesterol of 200 mg/dL and LDL cholesterol of 120 mg/dL or higher significantly increased the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Cholesterol levels indicating cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease risk in young Koreans without diabetes. [Data provided by Seoul St. Mary's Hospital]

According to the Korean Society of Lipid and Atherosclerosis, the prevalence of dyslipidemia was recorded as 25.4% in men and 26% in women in their 20s, and 41.4% in men and 34.6% in women in their 30s. However, only about half of adults with hypercholesterolemia are taking lipid-lowering drugs, and the control rate does not reach 50%.

Professor Seung-hwan Lee explained, "Many young adults, who are considered relatively low-risk, have dyslipidemia, but the criteria for drug treatment are ambiguous in reality. This study is meaningful in that it proposed appropriate cholesterol levels for young Koreans based on actual clinical data." He added, "Dyslipidemia is a major risk factor for atherosclerosis that increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases such as myocardial infarction, angina, and stroke. However, compared to other chronic diseases like diabetes and hypertension, patients tend to consider it a mild disease and may miss the optimal treatment period, leading to worsening conditions, so active management is necessary."

The results of this study were published in the October issue of the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology (IF 8.526).

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