107
million, or 1 in 5 adults, has cholesterol levels
above 200 mg/dL.
Almost 38 million more have levels above 240 mg/dL.
More women over age 45 have high cholesterol than
men.
High
cholesterol is very common in the UK. About two
out of three adults have a cholesterol level that
is higher than what is considered healthy.
The
research also tells us that
The
chance of having high cholesterol increases
as you get older. This is true for both
men and women.
Some
ethnic groups are affected more than others
by high cholesterol. Although people
from ethnic minority groups tend to have lower
total cholesterol than average, certain groups,
particularly Bangladeshi and Pakistani, have
low levels of good (HDL) cholesterol and slightly
raised blood triglycerides.
Researchers
are not sure why this is, but it may be due
either to differences in genes or in people's
diets.
