Now there is one more reason why you should reduce your cholesterol level, as a recent study has found that men with lower levels of the heart-clogging fat are less likely to develop high-grade prostate cancer.
According to a research led by scientists at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, low cholesterol may shrink risk for high-grade prostate cancer -- an aggressive form of the disease with a poorer prognosis.
In a prospective study of over 5,000 men, doctors said they now have evidence that having lower levels of heart-clogging fat may cut a man’s risk of this form of cancer by nearly 60 per cent, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions said.
“For many reasons, we know that it’s good to have a cholesterol level within the normal range,” says Elizabeth Platz one of the authors of the study.
She said, “Now, we have more evidence that among the benefits of low cholesterol may be a lower risk for potentially deadly prostate cancers.”
For the study, Platz, members of the Southwest Oncology Group, and other collaborators analysed data from 5,586 men aged 55 and older enrolled in the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial from 1993 to 1996. Some 1,251 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer during the study period.
They found that men with cholesterol levels lower than 200 mg/dL (the normal range) had a 59 per cent lower risk of developing high-grade prostate cancers.
