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CHICAGO,
Feb. 3 (UPI) -- The gap between those U.S. adults with optimal
low-density lipoprotein cholesterol vs. actual cholesterol levels is
widening, finds a study.
An
estimated 63 million adults have LDL-C levels -- "bad cholesterol"
-- higher than what would be ideal as recommended by the National
Institutes of Health, while 38 million have health conditions that
put them at increased risk for cardiovascular disease.
Dr.
Stephen D. Persell and co-researchers at Northwestern University
Feinberg School of Medicine compared 2001 National Institute of
Health cholesterol level targets with revised, more stringent,
optimal targets issued in 2004. They found 10 million more adults
had LDL-C levels above the new targets.
"Nationally, we are far from achieving the 2001 goals, and as new
evidence leads the NIH to push optional goals down further, the gap
between what we believe to be ideal goals and what has been achieved
gets even wider," Persell said.
The
findings were published in the February issue of the Journal of
General Internal Medicine
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