BC-Diet-Cholesterol,1st
Ld-Writethru/393 CDC report: U.S. cholesterol falls to the ideal range
of 199, thanks to anti-cholesterol drugs
By MIKE STOBBE
AP Medical Writer
ATLANTA (AP) _ Americans may be too fat, but
at least their cholesterol is low.
For the first time in nearly 50 years, the
average cholesterol level for U.S. adults is in the ideal
range, the government reported Wednesday.
Results from a national survey, which includes
blood tests, found the total cholesterol level dropped to
199. Doctors like patients to have total cholesterol readings
of 200 or lower.
The growing use of cholesterol-lowering pills
in people 60 and older is believed to be a main reason for
the improvement, experts said.
"These age groups are the ones most likely
to be treated with medication," said Susan Schober of
the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the lead
author of the report.
The survey collects data in two-year intervals.
The new results are based on a national sample of about 4,500
people age 20 and older from 2005-06. The new 199 level compares
with 204 in 1999-2000.
When the survey began in 1960, the average
cholesterol was at 222.
Researchers also found that the percentage
of adults with high cholesterol — at least 240 —
dropped to 16 percent, down from 20 percent in the early 1990s.
They also reported that 65 percent of men
and 75 percent of women had been screened for high cholesterol
in the previous five years.
High cholesterol is commonly linked to obesity:
Eating an abundance of meats, dairy products and other foods
rich in saturated fats contributes to both problems, as does
lack of exercise.
But U.S. cholesterol levels and obesity rates
have been going in opposite directions. Using data from the
same survey that produced the new cholesterol results, the
CDC reported last month that the adult obesity rate —
which grew over the last 25 years — is now at a far-from-ideal
34 percent.
Experts say the difference appears to be cholesterol-lowering
drugs, including widely used medicines as Lipitor, made by
Pfizer Inc.; Zocor, by Merck & Co.; and Pravachol, from
Bristol-Meyers Squibb.
The drugs dramatically reduce levels of LDL
cholesterol, which can clog arteries and lead to heart attacks.
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On the Net:
National Center for Health Statistics: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs
