Low cholesterol and increased mortality and cancer in 40-69 year olds

The study was published in the Journal of Clinical Epidemiology 1994 Sep;47(9):961-9

Study title and authors:
Serum total cholesterol and mortality in a Japanese population.
Iso H, Naito Y, Kitamura A, Sato S, Kiyama M, Takayama Y, Iida M, Shimamoto T, Sankai T, Komachi Y.
Institute of Community Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki-ken, Japan.

This paper can be accessed at:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7730912?dopt=Abstract

The study examined the relationship between cholesterol levels and cancer deaths and total deaths. Cholesterol levels were taken from 12,187 men and women aged 40-69 years living in Osaka who were then followed for nearly 9 years.

The study found:
(a) Women with the lowest cholesterol had an increased risk of death and cancer deaths.
(b) Men with the lowest cholesterol had a significantly increased risk of death and cancer deaths.

This study found that lower cholesterol levels lead to higher levels of death and cancer death, especially in men.