314,420
Views
78
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Perspective

LDL-C does not cause cardiovascular disease: a comprehensive review of the current literature

, , , , , , , , , , , ORCID Icon, , , & show all
Pages 959-970 | Received 11 Jan 2018, Accepted 31 Aug 2018, Published online: 11 Oct 2018

References

  • Collins R, Reith C, Emberson J, et al. Interpretation of the evidence for the efficacy and safety of statin therapy. Lancet. 2016;388:2532–2561.
  • Silverman MG, Ference BA, Im K, et al. Association between lowering LDL-C and cardiovascular risk reduction among different therapeutic interventions: systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA. 2016;316:1289–1297.
  • Ference BA, Ginsberg HN, Graham I, et al. Low-density lipoproteins cause atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. 1. evidence from genetic, epidemiologic, and clinical studies. A consensus statement from the European atherosclerosis society consensus panel. Eur Heart J. 2017;38:2459–2472.
  • Landé KE, Sperry WM. Human atherosclerosis in relation to the cholesterol content of the blood serum. Arch Pathol. 1936;22:301–312.
  • Ravnskov U. Is atherosclerosis caused by high cholesterol? QJM. 2002;95:397–403.
  • Solberg LA, Hjermann I, Helgeland A, et al. Association between risk factors and atherosclerotic lesions based on autopsy findings in the Oslo study: a preliminary report. In: Schettler G, Goto Y, Hata Y, et al., editors. Atherosclerosis IV. proc 4. int. symp. Berlin: Springer Verlag; 1977. p. 98–100.
  • Anderson KM, Castelli WP, Levy D. Cholesterol and mortality. 30 years of follow-up from the framingham study. JAMA. 1987;257:2176–2180.
  • LaRosa JC, Hunninghake D, Bush D, et al. The cholesterol facts. A summary of the evidence relating dietary fats, serum cholesterol, and coronary heart disease. A joint statement by the American heart association and the national heart, lung, and blood institute. Circulation. 1990;81:1721–1733.
  • Kannel WB, Doyle JT, Ostfeld AM, et al. Optimal resources for primary prevention of atherosclerotic diseases. Atherosclerosis study group. Circulation. 1984;70:157A–205A.
  • National Research Council Diet and Health. Implications for reducing chronic disease risk. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; 1989.
  • Ravnskov U. Quotation bias in reviews of the diet-heart idea. J Clin Epidemiol. 1995;48:713–719.
  • Ravnskov U. High cholesterol may protect against infections and atherosclerosis. QJM. 2003;96:927–934.
  • Ulmer H, Kelleher C, Diem G, et al. Why Eve is not adam: prospective follow-up in 149650 women and men of cholesterol and other risk factors related to cardiovascular and all-cause mortality. J Womens Health. 2004;13:41–53.
  • Prospective Studies Collaboration. Blood cholesterol and vascular mortality by age, sex, and blood pressure: a meta-analysis of individual data from 61 prospective studies with 55 000 vascular deaths. Lancet. 2007;370:1829–1839.
  • Okuyama H, Hamazaki T, Ogushi Y. New cholesterol guidelines for longevity (2010). World Rev Nutr Diet. 2011;102:124–136.
  • Hecht HS, Superko HR. Electron beam tomography and national cholesterol education program guidelines in asymptomatic women. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2001;37:1506–1511.
  • Fernández-Friera L, Fuster V, López-Melgar B, et al. Normal LDL-cholesterol levels are associated with subclinical atherosclerosis in the absence of risk factors. JACC. 2017;70:2979–2991.
  • Dimsdale JE, Herd A. Variability of plasma lipids in response to emotional arousal. Psychosom Med. 1982;44:413–430.
  • Rosenman RH. Relationships of neurogenic and psychological factors to the regulation and variability of serum lipids. Stress Med. 1993;9:133–140.
  • Sachdeva A, Cannon CP, Deedwania PC, et al. Lipid levels in patients hospitalized with coronary artery disease: an analysis of 136,905 hospitalizations in get with the guidelines. Am Heart J. 2009;157:111–117.
  • Al-Mallah MH, Hatahet H, Cavalcante JL, et al. Low admission LDL-cholesterol is associated with increased 3-year all-cause mortality in patients with non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction. Cardiol J. 2009;16:227–233.
  • Ravnskov U, McCully KS. Vulnerable plaque formation from obstruction of vasa vasorum by homocysteinylated and oxidized lipoprotein aggregates complexed with microbial remnants and LDL autoantibodies. Ann Clin Lab Sci. 2009;39:3–16.
  • Ravnskov U, McCully KS. Infections may be causal in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Am J Med Sci. 2012;344:391–394.
  • Ravnskov U, Rosch PJ, McCully KS. The statin-low cholesterol-cancer conundrum. QJM. 2012;105:383–388.
  • Parkin DM. The global health burden of infection-associated cancers in the year 2002. Int J Cancer. 2006;118:3030–3044.
  • Ravnskov U, Diamond DM, Hama R, et al. Lack of an association or an inverse association between low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol and mortality in the elderly: a systematic review. BMJ Open. 2016;6:e010401.
  • Bathum L, Depont Christensen R, Engers Pedersen L, et al. Association of lipoprotein levels with mortality in subjects aged 50+ without previous diabetes or cardiovascular disease: a population-based register study. Scand J Prim Health Care. 2013;31:172–180.
  • Hamazaki T, Okuyama H, Ogushi Y, et al. Towards a paradigm shift in cholesterol treatment. A re-examination of the cholesterol issue in Japan. Ann Nutr Metab. 2015;66(suppl 4):1–116.
  • Burgess S, Timpson NJ, Ebrahim S, et al. Mendelian randomization: where are we now and where are we going? Int J Epidemiol. 2015;44:379–388.
  • West of Scotland Coronary Prevention Study Group. Influence of pravastatin and plasma lipids on clinical events in the West of Scotland Coronary Prevention Study (WOSCOPS). Circulation. 1998;97:1440–1445.
  • Sacks FM, Moyé LA, Davis BR, et al. Relationship between plasma LDL concentrations during treatment with pravastatin and recurrent coronary events in the cholesterol and recurrent events trial. Circulation. 1998;97:1446–1452.
  • Schwartz GG, Olsson AG, Ezekowitz MD, et al. Effects of atorvastatin on early recurrent ischemic events in acute coronary syndromes: the MIRACL study: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2001;285:1711–1718.
  • Cordoba G, Schwartz L, Woloshin S, et al. Definition, reporting and interpretation of composite outcomes in clinical trials: systematic review. BMJ. 2010;341:c3920.
  • Diamond DM, Ravnskov U. How statistical deception created the appearance that statins are safe and effective in primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease. Expert Rev Clin Pharmacol. 2015;8:201–210.
  • Shepherd J, Cobbe SM, Ford I, et al. Prevention of coronary heart disease with pravastatin in men with hypercholesterolemia. West of Scotland coronary prevention study group. N Engl J Med. 1995;333:1301–1307.
  • Downs JR, Clearfield M, Weis S, et al. Primary prevention of acute coronary events with lovastatin in men and women with average cholesterol levels: results of AFCAPS/TexCAPS. air force/Texas coronary atherosclerosis prevention study. JAMA. 1998;279:1615–1622.
  • Sever PS, Dahlof B, Poulter NR, et al. Prevention of coronary and stroke events with atorvastatin in hypertensive patients who have average or lower-than-average cholesterol concentrations, in the Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial—lipid Lowering Arm (ASCOT-LLA): a multicentre randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 2003;361:1149–1158.
  • Colhoun HM, Betteridge DJ, Durrington PN, et al. Primary prevention of cardiovascular disease with atorvastatin in type 2 diabetes in the Collaborative Atorvastatin Diabetes Study (CARDS): multicentre randomised placebo-controlled trial. Lancet. 2004;364:685–696.
  • Nakamura H, Arakawa K, Itakura H, et al. Primary prevention of cardiovascular disease with pravastatin in Japan (MEGA study): a prospective randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 2006;368:1155–1163.
  • Knopp RH, d’Emden M, Smilde JG, et al. Efficacy and safety of atorvastatin in the prevention of cardiovascular end points in subjects with type 2 diabetes: the atorvastatin study for prevention of coronary heart disease endpoints in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (ASPEN). Diabetes Care. 2006;29:1478–1485.
  • Ridker PM, Danielson E, Fonseca FA, et al. Rosuvastatin to prevent vascular events in men and women with elevated C-reactive protein. N Engl J Med. 2008;359:2195–2207.
  • Yusuf S, Bosch J, Dagenais G, et al. Cholesterol lowering in intermediate-risk persons without cardiovascular disease. N Engl J Med. 2016;374:2021–2031.
  • Scandinavian Simvastatin Survival Study Group. Randomised trial of cholesterol lowering in. 4444 patients with coronary heart disease: the Scandinavian simvastatin survival study (4S). Lancet. 1994;344:1383–1389.
  • Sacks FM, Pfeffer MA, Moye LA, et al. The effect of pravastatin on coronary events after myocardial infarction in patients with average cholesterol levels. cholesterol and recurrent events trial investigators. N Engl J Med. 1996;335:1001–1009.
  • The Post Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Trial Investigators. The effect of aggressive lowering of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels and low-dose anticoagulation on obstructive changes in saphenous-vein coronary-artery bypass grafts. N Engl J Med. 1997;336:153–162.
  • Tonkin A, Alyward P, Colquhoun D, et al. Prevention of cardiovascular events and death with pravastatin in patients with coronary heart disease and a broad range of initial cholesterol levels. N Engl J Med. 1998;339:1349–1357.
  • GISSI Prevenzione Investigators. Results of the low-dose (20 mg) pravastatin GISSI Prevenzione trial in 4271 patients with recent myocardial infarction: do stopped trials contribute to overall knowledge? GISSI Prevenzione Investigators (Gruppo Italiano per lo Studio della Sopravvivenza nell’Infarto Miocardico). Ital Heart J. 2000;1:810–820.
  • Serruys PW, de Feyter P, Macaya C, et al. Fluvastatin for prevention of cardiac events following successful first percutaneous coronary intervention: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2002;287:3215–3222.
  • Heart Protection Study Collaborative Group. MRC/BHF Heart Protection Study of cholesterol lowering with simvastatin in. 20 536 high-risk individuals: a randomised placebo-controlled trial. Lancet. 2002;360:7–22.
  • Athyros VG, Papageorgiou AA, Mercouris BR, et al. Treatment with atorvastatin to the national cholesterol educational program goal versus ‘usual’ care in secondary coronary heart disease prevention. The GREek Atorvastatin and Coronary-heart-disease Evaluation (GREACE) study. Curr Med Res Opin. 2002;18:220–228.
  • Shepherd J, Blauw GJ, Murphy MB, et al. Pravastatin in elderly individuals at risk of vascular disease (PROSPER): a randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 2002;360:1623–1630.
  • The Allhat Officers and. Coordinators for the ALLHAT collaborative research group. Major outcomes in moderately hypercholesterolemic, hypertensive patients randomized to pravastatin vs usual care: the Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial (ALLHAT-LLT). JAMA. 2002;288:2998–3007.
  • Cannon CP, Braunwald E, McCabe CH, et al. Intensive versus moderate lipid lowering with statins after acute coronary syndromes. N Engl J Med. 2004;350:1495–1504.
  • de Lemos JA, Blazing MA, Wiviott SD et al. Early intensive vs a delayed conservative simvastatin strategy in patients with acute coronary syndromes: phase Z of the A to Z trial. JAMA. 2004;292:1307–1316.
  • Koren MJ, Hunninghake DB. ALLIANCE investigators. Clinical outcomes in managed-care patients with coronary heart disease treated aggressively in lipid-lowering disease management clinics: the ALLIANCE study. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2004;44:1772–1779.
  • LaRosa JC, Grundy SM, Waters DD, et al. Intensive lipid lowering with atorvastatin in patients with stable coronary disease. N Engl J Med. 2005;352:1425–1435.
  • Pedersen TR, Faergeman O, Kastelein JJ, et al. High-dose atorvastatin vs usual-dose simvastatin for secondary prevention after myocardial infarction: the IDEAL study: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2005;294:2437–2445.
  • Amarenco P, Bogousslavsky J, Callahan A 3rd, et al. Stroke Prevention by Aggressive Reduction in Cholesterol Levels (SPARCL) investigators. High-dose atorvastatin after stroke or transient ischemic attack. N Engl J Med. 2006;355:549–559.
  • Study of the Effectiveness of Additional Reductions in Cholesterol and Homocysteine (SEARCH) Collaborative Group. Intensive lowering of LDL cholesterol with. 80 mg versus 20 mg simvastatin daily in 12 064 survivors of myocardial infarction: a double-blind randomised trial. Lancet. 2010;376:1658–1669.
  • Bradford RH, Shear CL, Chremos AN, et al. Expanded Clinical Evaluation of Lovastatin (EXCEL) study results. I. Efficacy in modifying plasma lipoproteins and adverse event profile in 8245 patients with moderate hypercholesterolemia. Arch Intern Med. 1991;151:43–49.
  • Dujovne CA, Chremos AN, Pool JL, et al. Expanded clinical evaluation of lovastatin (EXCEL) study results: IV. Additional perspectives on the tolerability of lovastatin. Am J Med. 1991;91:25S–30S.
  • Wanner C, Krane V, März W, et al. Atorvastatin in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus undergoing hemodialysis. N Engl J Med. 2005;353:238–248. Erratum in: N Engl J Med 2005;353:1640
  • Strandberg TE, Pitkala KH, Berglind S, et al. Multifactorial intervention to prevent recurrent cardiovascular events in patients 75 years or older: the Drugs and Evidence-Based Medicine in the Elderly (DEBATE) study: a randomized, controlled trial. Am Heart J. 2006;152:585–592.
  • Kjekshus J, Apetrei E, Barrios V, et al. Rosuvastatin in older patients with systolic heart failure. N Engl J Med. 2007;357:2248–2261.
  • Deedwania P, Stone PH, Bairey Merz CN, et al. Effects of intensive versus moderate lipid-lowering therapy on myocardial ischemia in older patients with coronary heart disease: results of the Study Assessing Goals in the Elderly (SAGE). Circulation. 2007;115:700–707.
  • Rossebø AB, Pedersen TR, Boman K, et al. Intensive lipid lowering with simvastatin and ezetimibe in aortic stenosis. N Engl J Med. 2008;359:1343–1356.
  • Tavazzi L, Maggioni AP, Marchioli R, et al. Effect of rosuvastatin in patients with chronic heart failure (the GISSI-HF trial): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Lancet. 2008;372:1231–1239.
  • Fellström BC, Jardine AG, Schmieder RE, et al. Rosuvastatin and cardiovascular events in patients undergoing hemodialysis. N Engl J Med. 2009;360:1395–1407. Erratum in: N Engl J Med. 2010;362:1450.
  • Cannon CP, Blazing MA, Giugliano RP, et al. Ezetimibe added to statin therapy after acute coronary syndromes. N Engl J Med. 2015;372:2387–2397.
  • Cholesterol Treatment Trialists’ (CTT) Collaboration. Efficacy and safety of LDL-lowering therapy among men and women: meta-analysis of individual data from. 174 000 participants in 27 randomised trials. Lancet. 2015;385:1397–1405.
  • Kristensen ML, Christensen PM, Hallas J. The effect of statins on average survival in randomised trials, an analysis of end point postponement. BMJ Open. 2015;5:e007118.
  • de Lorgeril M, Rabaeus M. Beyond confusion and controversy, can we evaluate the real efficacy and safety of cholesterol-lowering with statins? J Controvers Biomed Res. 2015;1:67–92.
  • Phillips PS, Haas RH, Bannykh S, et al. Statin-associated myopathy with normal creatine kinase levels. Ann Intern Med. 2002;137:581–585.
  • Sinzinger H, O’Grady J. Professional athletes suffering from familial hypercholesterolaemia rarely tolerate statin treatment because of muscular problems. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2004;57:525–528.
  • Okuyama H, Langsjoen PH, Hamazaki T, et al. Statins stimulate atherosclerosis and heart failure: pharmacological mechanisms. Expert Rev Clin Pharmacol. 2015;8:189–199.
  • Hippisley-Cox J, Coupland C. Unintended effects of statins in men and women in England and Wales: population based cohort study using the QResearch database. BMJ. 2010;340:c2197.
  • Chung SD, Chen CH, Hung SH, et al. A population-based study on the association between statin use and sudden sensorineural hearing loss. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2015;152:319–325.
  • Davison KM, Kaplan BJ. Lipophilic statin use and suicidal ideation in a sample of adults with mood disorders. Crisis. 2014;35:278–282.
  • Gaist D, Jeppesen U, Andersen M, et al. Statins and risk of polyneuropathy: a case-control study. Neurology. 2002;58:1333–1337.
  • Kang JH, Kao LT, Lin HC, et al. Statin use increases the risk of depressive disorder in stroke patients: a population-based study. J Neurol Sci. 2015;348:89–93.
  • Huang X, Alonso A, Guo X, et al. Statins, plasma cholesterol, and risk of Parkinson’s disease: a prospective study. Mov Disord. 2015;30:552–559.
  • Huang CY, Chung SD, Kao LT, et al. Statin use Is associated with bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis: a population-based case-control study. Urol Int. 2015;95:227–232.
  • Antoniou T, Zheng H, Singh S, et al. Statins and the risk of herpes zoster: a population-based cohort study. Clin Infect Dis. 2014;58:350–356.
  • Solomon H, Samarasinghe YP, Feher MD, et al. Erectile dysfunction and statin treatment in high cardiovascular risk patients. Int J Clin Pract. 2006;60:141–145.
  • Evans MA, Golomb BA. Statin-associated adverse cognitive effects: survey results from 171 patients. Pharmacotherapy. 2009;29:800–811.
  • Padala KP, Padala PR, McNeilly DP, et al. The effect of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors on cognition in patients with Alzheimer’s dementia: a prospective withdrawal and rechallenge pilot study. Am J Geriatr Pharmacother. 2012;10:296–302.
  • Muldoon MF, Barger SD, Ryan CM, et al. Effects of lovastatin on cognitive function and psychological well-being. Am J Med. 2000;108:538–546.
  • Muldoon MF, Ryan CM, Sereika SM, et al. Randomized trial of the effects of simvastatin on cognitive functioning in hypercholesterolemic adults. Am J Med. 2004;117:823–829.
  • Cederberg H, Stančáková A, Yaluri N, et al. Increased risk of diabetes with statin treatment is associated with impaired insulin sensitivity and insulin secretion: a 6 year follow-up study of the METSIM cohort. Diabetologia. 2015;58:1109–1117.
  • Mansi I, Frei CR, Wang CP, et al. Statins and new-onset diabetes mellitus and diabetic complications: a retrospective cohort study of US healthy adults. J Gen Intern Med. 2015;30:1599–1610.
  • Newman TB, Hulley SB. Carcinogenicity of lipid-lowering drugs. JAMA. 1996;275:55–60.
  • Sabatine MS, Giugliano RP, Keech AC, et al. Evolocumab and clinical outcomes in patients with cardiovascular disease. N Engl J Med. 2017;376:1713–1722.
  • Scientific steering committee on behalf of the simon broome register group. Risk of fatal coronary heart disease in familial hypercholesterolaemia. BMJ. 1991;303:893–896.
  • Mundal L, Sarancic M, Ose L, et al. Mortality among patients with familial hypercholesterolemia: a registry-based study in Norway, 1992–2010. JAMA. 2014;3:e001236.
  • Seed M, Hoppichler F, Reaveley D, et al. Relation of serum lipoprotein(a) concentration and apolipoprotein(a) phenotype to coronary heart disease in patients with familial hypercholesterolemia. N Engl J Med. 1990;322:1494–1499.
  • Wiklund O, Angelin B, Olofsson SO, et al. Apolipoprotein(a) and ischaemic heart disease in familial hypercholesterolaemia. Lancet. 1990;335:1360–1363.
  • Vuorio AF, Turtola H, Piilahti KM, et al. Familial hypercholesterolemia in the finnish north Karelia. A molecular, clinical, and genealogical study. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 1997;17:3127–3138.
  • Wittekoek ME, de Groot E, Prins MH, et al. Differences in intima-media thicknessin the carotid and femoral arteries in familial hypercholesterolemic heterozygotes with and without clinical manifestations of cardiovascular disease. Atherosclerosis. 1999;146:271–279.
  • Smilde TJ, Trip MD, Wollersheim H, et al. Rationale, design and baseline characteristics of a clinical trial comparing the effects of robust vs conventional cholesterol lowering and intima media thickness in patients with familial hypercholesterolaemia: the atorvastatin versus simvastatin on atherosclerosis progression (ASAP) study. Clin Drug Investig. 2000;20:67–79.
  • Cenarro A, Artieda M, Castillo S, et al. A common variant in the ABCA1 gene is associated with a lower risk for premature coronary heart disease in familial hypercholesterolaemia. J Med Genet. 2003;40:163–168.
  • Harlan WR, Graham JB, Estes EH. Familial hypercholesterolemia: a genetic and metabolic study. Medicine. 1966;45:77–110.
  • Nilsson S, Mölstad S, Karlberg C, et al. No connection between the level of exposition to statins in the population and the incidence/mortality of acute myocardial infarction: an ecological study based on Sweden’s municipalities. J Negat Results Biomed. 2011;10:6.
  • Kuklina EV, Yoon PW, Keenan NL. Trends in high levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in the United States, 1999–2006. JAMA. 2009;302:2104–2110.
  • Vancheri F, Backlund L, Strender LE, et al. Time trends in statin utilisation and coronary mortality in Western European countries. BMJ Open. 2016;6:e010500.
  • Okuyama H, Hamazaki T, Hama R, et al. A critical review of the consensus statement from the European atherosclerosis society consensus panel 2017. Pharmacology. 2018;101:184–218.
  • Vallejo-Vaz AJ, Robertson M, Catapano AL, et al. LDL-cholesterol lowering for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease among men with primary elevations of LDL-cholesterol levels of 190 mg/dL or above: analyses from the WOSCOPS 5-year randomised trial and 20-year observational follow-up. Circulation. 2017;136:1878–1891.
  • Ravnskov U, Okuyama H, Sultan S. Serious bias in 20 year follow-up study of statin trial. BMJ. 2017;359:j4906.