Average is Better as…

Here’s a ray of good news that provides a break from concerns about high rates of obesity, hypertension and diabetes: The average cholesterol level for adults throughout the U.S. has fallen to its lowest level in nearly 50 years and into a range considered ideal by medical professionals.

Cholesterol is a waxy substance that occurs naturally in all parts of the body and is needed to facilitate normal functions, according to the federal government’s National Institutes for Health. The human body uses cholesterol to produce many hormones, vitamin D, and acids that help to digest fat. It takes only a small amount of cholesterol in the blood to meet those needs, while too much cholesterol in the bloodstream can lead to a condition in which fat and cholesterol are deposited in many parts of the body, including the coronary arteries that feed the heart. In time, the narrowing of the coronary arteries, caused by fat and cholesterol, can produce the signs and symptoms of heart disease

There are two different kinds of cholesterol— known as LDL and HDL. The LDL is the form that can cause problems. HDL can help prevent such problems. The cholesterol level tracked in the recent report takes both LDL and HDL into account in a combined measurement. Doctors generally recommend a combined cholesterol level of 200 or lower, although diagnoses often vary on a patient-by-patient basis.

The finding that cholesterol levels have dropped to a nationwide average of 199—just under the 200 level generally recommended by doctors—came in the recent study, which was conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention, along with the National Center for Health Statistics.

The CDC conducted a national blood test survey as part of the study, with a sample based of 4,500 respondents throughout the U.S. in 2005 and 2006.

The average cholesterol level in the U.S. stood at 222 for the first survey conducted by the CDC in 1960. Researchers said that the increasing use of cholesterol drugs among the growing numbers of individuals who are 60 and older likely contributed to the drop in the national average recorded in the latest study.

Researchers also determined that the number of adults with what is generally considered high cholesterol levels—240 or more—has dropped nationwide to 16% of the population, down from 20% in the early 1990s.

Individuals are also doing more to keep track of their cholesterol, according to the report. The data indicated that a total of 65% of men and 75% of women who responded to the survey said that they had been tested for cholesterol within the past five years.

The CDC study came out just as Whitehouse Station, New Jersey-based pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. requested permission to sell a low-dosage version of its cholesterol drug Mevacor on drugstore shelves, which would have made it the first “statin” medication available on an over-the-counter basis.

Merck has contended that making the low-dose version of the drug available on an over-the-counter basis—without a doctor’s prescription, in other words—would bring benefits for millions of individuals who are at moderate risk of heart disease.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rejected Merck’s request on December 13. An independent scientific review board reported to the agency that the drug is effective, but the panel also raised concerns about whether consumers would be likely to use the product as directed.

The FDA determined that Merck’s own research on the matter indicated that only 20% of consumers would be likely to use Mevacor properly on their own. The number rose to 50% when the FDA counted consumers who said they would check with their doctor before using the drug.

The studies “have not convinced this reviewer that there is adequate consumer comprehension of the proposed product label to ensure safe and effective use of this product,” according to the FDA’s report.